$400K Allegedly Embezzled By Construction Co. Employee

DENVER, CO -- Something looked askew in the accounts of Denver's Hyder Construction Co. earlier this year when bills started to arrive for tens of thousands of dollars worth of laptops, tablets and cell phones. The company fired employee Jared Daniel Coon, 42, who allegedly ordered at least $400,000 worth of electronics on company credit between late 2014 and January of 2017, and kept the merchandise according to a Denver Police affidavit. Coon will appear for a preliminary hearing in Denver Criminal Court Oct. 31, charged with third-degree theft over $100,000.

Police reports said Coon ordered at least 126 laptop computers for the company's 48 employees, which aroused suspicion. All in all, the company's internal investigation showed Coon had allegedly made fraudulent charges were close to $400,000, the company said. These included several thousands of dollars worth of Micro Surface Pro tablets and cases and a monitor from Soft Warehouse International and $20,000 worth of Pro 4 laptops from computer Discount Warehouse. Coon allegedly ordered at least $37,000 worth cellular phones from TMobile.

Coon told police he needed money because he had gone through a divorce and sold his townhouse.

"Between getting divorced, extreme alcohol consumption and health issues, what seemed to be a little at the beginning compounded each time and became something greater," he wrote in an email submitted with Coon's arrest warrant. "I was on a path to return, but circumstance got the best of me. Although nothing is black and white, there is in fact very few shades of grey in between for this situation." Coon estimated he owed $120,000 and claimed he had paid back $36,000 to TMobile using a credit card.

Image Jared Daniel Coon via Denver Co. District Atty's Office.