Truck driver wrongly accused of stealing, fired, and nearly jailed over accounting error
A truck driver from Orange County, New York was charged with grand larceny after his employer accused him of stealing $2,000 from company funds – even after he refused to plead guilty.
Trucker Falsely Accused Of Felony Theft
The truck driver, Jonathan Swift, 51, was delivering party supplies to stores in the tristate area for King Zak Industries, Inc. of Goshen when the company accused him of stealing. They thought that Swift was stealing money that turned up missing from an invoice payment.
Normally, truck drivers do not handle company cash; however, Swift picked up and dropped off money for the store supplier. Until the last drop off, Swift had had no incidents with the company or mishandled before.
Swift was arrested in February of 2017 after the company made the accusation of missing $2,000 in November of 2016. His mother had to post a $2,000 bail for him.
Truck driver lost his job, home after bosses wrongfully accused him of stealing $2,000 #Topbuzz https://t.co/sv7ODAHngQ. What happened to this man was wrong. He lost his house & was charged with grand larceny for a lousy $2,000 mistake. He needs a job, an apology and justice.
— Rita Keegan (@lilomeRita) November 17, 2017
Nevertheless, Swift maintained his innocence and turned down plea bargains promising a lesser charge, according to ABC 7.
This charge holds up to 4 years in prison.
Lawyer Discovers That Money Was Missing Due To Accounting Error
When the day of the trial finally arrived this month, the prosecuting attorneys submitted evidence related to Swift’s case to Swift’s lawyer. Within minutes Swift’s lawyer, Brett Broge, noticed a simple accounting error that easily explained the missing $2,000.
Truck driver from Orange County speaks out after being wrongfully accused of stealing thousands from his employer. Case dismissed after his lawyer noticed simple accounting error the day the trail was set to begin.
— Marcus Solis (@MarcusSolis7) November 17, 2017
“I couldn’t believe it would be something so easy,” Broge said. The case was promptly dismissed. Swift has been struggling financially after being fired, and his driving reputation has been forever tarnished because of someone else’s error. Until now, he has only been able to work minimum wage paying jobs that will hire felons – which is not many.
“I really needed to keep my job. I had child support payments to make and my home was on the brink of foreclosure,” Swift told the Daily News.
He has since gotten justice in this case, and indeed proven innocent. His felony charges have been dropped.