A 36-year-old Torrance man pleaded not guilty Monday to stealing more than $400,000 worth of computers while working for an Irvine-based multimedia production and staging company.
Ronnie Lee Terry Jr., who was arrested last Tuesday, entered his plea in the jail courtroom in Santa Ana and was ordered to return to court on Nov. 4 for a pretrial hearing at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.
Terry was hired by MBA Productions as an IT manager in October 2017, according to court papers filed by Irvine police Detective David Etlinger in April.
An internal audit in July 2018 showed that 25 computers were missing, including some machines sent to Terry’s residence, Etlinger said. Ultimately, the audit showed 27 computers and other equipment worth $421,913 was missing, he said.
During the audit, Terry “abruptly resigned” and ceased all communication with the company, Etlinger said.
Terry was named in a warrant out of the state of New York for alleged fraud that was issued on Sept. 25, 2016, according to Etlinger, who said the defendant has multiple prior convictions for grand larceny out of New York.
The defendant was allegedly selling the stolen computer equipment through an online sales site, Etlinger said.
Terry is charged with 22 felony counts of grand theft by embezzlement, with sentencing enhancements for aggravated white-collar crime between $100,000 to $500,000.