FRESNO, Calif. — Kenneth Gould, 69, formerly of Clovis, was sentenced to one year in prison for stealing more than $800,000 from a bank, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced Monday
According to court records, Gould was a CPA and operated a payroll services company in Clovis. From October 2017 through March 2018, he initiated several fraudulent electronic payments from one of his clients’ accounts to his payroll company’s account at the bank. While the payments were pending, the bank credited significant portions of the funds to Gould’s account. Gould then quickly withdrew those funds in cashier’s checks. The bank later realized that there were insufficient funds to cover the payments, denied the payments, and attempted to recover its money. But it was too late. Approximately $830,000 of the credited funds was already gone.
Gould gave the stolen money to the client from whose account he initiated the fraudulent payments because he had loaned that individual money and was hopeful that the individual would one day pay him back. The client then gambled the money away.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Barton prosecuted the case.
