A Leesburg man was sentenced recently in Highland County Common Pleas Court to five years of community control on grand theft charges.
Jeremy Hogsett, 30, was sentenced to five years of community control on one count of grand theft by deception, a fourth-degree felony.
Hogsett must serve 30 days in the Highland County Jail, pay restitution through the Victim Witness Escrow Account in monthly payments of $400 per month, and pay restitution of $23,578 to the victim through the Victim Restitution Escrow Account of the Highland County Victim Witness Office.
If Hogsett violates any of the community control sanctions, he would be ordered to serve six to 18 months in prison and pay a fine of $5,000.
According to court documents, on or around Jan. 1, 2020, and continuing through Sept. 1, 2021, Hogsett was a secretary for the Hillsboro Eagles. After the organization noticed discrepancies in the checkbook, he was fired and an audit was done. During that audit, the organization discovered that $20,095 was collected in membership dues. But only $10,412 was found, which left $9,683 missing. Hogsett never deposited the money and it was found in a desk drawer.
Multiple checks were also written to Hogsett. Check #15064 was written to Hogsett by Hogsett for $1,000, but the reason for the check only cost $500 and the secretary book showed only $500. Check #14989 was written by Hogsett to Hogsett in an amount of $2,500 for reimbursement. No documentation supported that, however, with the secretary book changed multiple times regarding this check.
Check #14998 was written by Hogsett to Hogsett for $2,000 and was marked for reimbursement. There was also no supporting documentation for this and the secretary book was changed for this check. Check #15008 was written for $2,000 to Hogsett by Hogsett, with no log shown in the secretary book.
Check #15065 was written by Hogsett to Hogsett for $1,000 for “end-of-year savings.” Check #14950 was written by Hogsett to Hogsett in an amount of $1,900 for “reimbursement labor.” Check #14943 was written by Hogsett to Hogsett for $1,995 for reimbursement. Check #14907 was written by Hogsett to Hogsett for $2,000 for reimbursement.
There isn’t any corroborating documentation for these checks. The secretary book shows three of these checks as “VOID” and the other one as a different amount to a separate organization. In total, $13,895 in checks were written to Hogsett “with no explanation.”
Four of the checks had signatures that didn’t match the treasurer’s. Hogsett was requested to give receipts for the reimbursements on multiple occasions and could not. A review of Hogsett’s checking account showed that nine of the checks in question were deposited into it.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
