DA: Thefts fueled luxury living, vehicles

A 35-year-old Bryn Mawr man apparently couldn’t fuel his penchant for luxury cars on his $900 weekly salary so he helped himself to more than $900,000 over the course of a year from his employer, Chester County authorities alleged.

Clifton Willson
Clifton K. Willson

On Thursday, May 5, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced the arrest of Clifton K. Willson for theft and related offenses.  Willson worked part-time at a farm in Willistown Township, where he stole “stacks of blank checks from a hall closet” of his employer, the criminal complaint said.

Willson began writing checks for $900, but by the time the thefts were discovered in February, the amounts had increased to $18,000, the complaint said. Among the items purchased: two Maseratis, a Porsche SUV, a Land Rover SUV, a family vacation to the Bahamas, and private school tuition for his children, the complaint said.

“The defendant took advantage of his position of trust,” said Hogan in a press release.  “He stole checks, forged the victim’s signature, and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars all because of simple greed.”

Willistown Township Police Chief John Narcise applauded the teamwork that resulted in Willson’s arrest.

“The Willistown Police Department and Chester County Detectives worked together to investigate this case thoroughly and rapidly, making sure to protect the residents of Willistown,” Narcise said in the release.  “Unfortunately, this case is also a sad reminder that people and businesses need to be very careful about whom they trust.”

According to the complaint, the investigation began in February when the victim noticed an unauthorized check for $18,000 made out to Willson and contacted police.

Investigators discovered that Willson, who had worked as a painter at the victim’s farm between May 2014 and February 2016, had forged the victim’s signature and deposited the stolen checks in various personal accounts. The total amount embezzled was $927,100, the complaint said.

“The only good news here is that the defendant and his attorney were immediately cooperative,” said Hogan in the release.  “The defendant already has made in excess of $500,000 in restitution.  Acceptance of responsibility is always a factor that the District Attorney’s Office considers in the ultimate disposition of a case.”

Willson was arraigned and released on $500,000 unsecured bail.  A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, May 11, court records said. Anybody with any information about the case should contact Willistown Detective Steve Jones at 610-251-0222.

 

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