Kenneth Gould, a 69-year-old former resident of Clovis, has been sentenced to one year in prison for stealing over $800,000 from a bank. The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith.
Court records indicate that Gould, who was a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and ran a payroll services company in Clovis, committed the theft between October 2017 and March 2018. He initiated fraudulent electronic payments from one of his client’s accounts to his own company’s account at the bank. Before these payments were finalized, the bank credited significant amounts to Gould’s account, which he quickly withdrew using cashier’s checks. The bank later discovered insufficient funds to cover these transactions and attempted to recover the money, but approximately $830,000 had already been withdrawn.
Gould reportedly gave the stolen funds back to the client from whose account he initiated the fraudulent transfers because he had previously loaned money to this individual and hoped for repayment. However, the client gambled away the money.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Barton.
