How an employee allegedly stole $2.4M from Bensalem gaming company
A Lehigh County man is accused of embezzling $2.4 million from a Bensalem-based gaming company over seven years.
On Monday, Michael Bull, 47, of Emmaus, was arraigned on charges alleging he embezzled the funds from KGM Gaming LLC since 2015.
Bull is charged with dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, theft by deception, theft, receiving stolen property, identity theft and related offenses. He is free on 10% of $500,000 bail.
The Bucks County District Attorney's Office and Bensalem police said in a news release that Bull, who was hired as the company's accountant in 2014, began issuing himself checks within a year.
Bensalem Detective Stephen Clark served search warrants on Citizens Bank to get Bull's banking records, which showed Bull issued himself 288 checks, totaling $2,404,960, officials said.
Bull turned himself in Monday.
“At this point in time we’re investigating the allegations against Mr. Bull," his attorney Matthew Quigg said Monday. "And we’ll have more comment at a future date.”
A KGM Gaming spokesperson said the company had no further comment when reached Monday afternoon.
KGM Gaming, on Samuel Drive, is a supplier of cabinet housings for slot machines and furniture for casinos. The company recently installed software that detects suspicious transactions.
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How an accountant stole $2.4 million, according to police
During an internal audit, the company found that Bull was listed in the payroll system as a vendor, and he had issued checks to himself, according to police. Bull would trace the signature of the CEO on unauthorized checks before he deposited them into his personal bank account, authorities allege.
Bull also entered fraudulent vendor invoices and would change the payee name on the check to his own, officials said. He was fired in December when the missing funds were discovered, according to the release.
Bull's criminal complaint states that the company's CEO confronted him about the funds in late December, and Bull agreed to work out a repayment plan. However, he only ended up paying $10,000 instead of immediately cashing in $100,000 in bonds and other investments to pay the company, court documents state.
After Bull was fired, investigators found a piece of a check that had the CEO's signature on it inside Bull's desk, police said. The CEO believed that was what was used to trace his signature, police said.
Bull's preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for April 4.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Lehigh man accused of embezzling $2.4 million from Bensalem company
