Nesconset Man Ordered to Pay Back $280K Stolen From Employer

NCDA Photo: Thomas Holt 

A Nesconset man has been ordered to pay restitution of nearly $280,000 he stole from his Great Neck employee over a four-year period, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said.

Thomas Holt, 66, pleaded guilty Tuesday to second degree grand larceny, a felony, before Nassau County Court Judge Anthony Paradiso.

Paradiso ordered a civil judgment of $279,794.15 in favor of the employer, and ordered Holt held on remand. Holt is due back in court for sentencing on Jan. 23.

“After the victim’s referral and a year-long investigation by my office, a person who should have been a role model for younger employees has now become a sad example of the consequences of criminal activity,” Rice said.

Rice said Holt was employed for the last 20 years at an interior design and supply firm located in Great Neck, where his job was to take orders and payments from walk-in customers.

Starting in 2008, he told dozens of customers that he could provide them with a discount, provided they paid him directly with a check made out to cash. He then delivered the merchandise ordered by those customers from the inventory of the store, but did not forward the checks to his employer. Rather, he deposited them in his own personal checking account. The scheme lasted until 2012. Holt was fired by the company in October 2012.

The scheme was discovered during a routine review of the company’s financial records, which showed that payments on invoices had not been credited to the company’s accounts. After speaking with customers who gave payment directly to Holt, the company referred the case in March 2013 to Rice’s office for investigation. DA investigators arrested Holt in March.

Have a news tip? Email ryan@patch.com. You can also post your own news, events and announcements on Patch by following these directions. Curious about how our new commenting platform, Disqus, works? Learn more about it here and start interacting with your neighbors on Patch.