By: Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Cleveland County man has been charged in Payne County District Court with embezzling from his former employer, Top Hand Field Services at 6909 S. Perkins Road in Stillwater.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Darrell Andrew Sanders, 41, of Byars, who has not yet been arraigned on the felony charge that carries a maximum penalty of a five-year prison term and a $5,000 fine on conviction.
Payne County Sheriff’s Investigator Brandon Myers wrote in an affidavit that last August he began an embezzlement investigation concerning Sanders, who started working for Top Hand Field Services in May of 2018 as a road supervisor.
Sanders was provided a company credit card, but in mid-July of 2018, “Darrell failed to report to a meeting in Tulsa as scheduled,” the affidavit alleged.
“It was later learned that Darrell had quit working for Top Hand Field Services without notifying the company, abandoned his company-issued vehicle in the middle of a country road, and went to work for another company,” the affidavit alleged.
The Top Hand Field Services owner contacted his office personnel to look at Sanders’ credit card transactions, since his card had not been turned in, the affidavit alleged.
Sanders’ former employer learned that beginning on May 27, 2018, Sanders used his company-issued credit card to purchase unauthorized items totaling $2,809.67 for such things as meals, clothing, vehicle parts and computer software, the affidavit alleged.
The purchases included $17.82 at McDonalds in Pauls Valley on May 30, 2018, $77.92 at Marnaveca Mexican Restaurant in Norman on June 8, 2018, and $292.98 at Sharpe’s Department Store in Pauls Valley on July 14, 2018, the affidavit alleged.
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