The longtime general manager of an Anaheim plastics company pleaded guilty Friday to embezzling more than $184,000 over at least seven years.
Jeffrey Joseph Lenhardt, 60, pleaded guilty to one count of grand theft by embezzlement and nine counts of computer access and fraud. He also admitted sentencing enhancements for property damage exceeding $65,000 and aggravated white-collar crime between $100,000 and $500,000.
Lenhardt is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 9 at the North Justice Center in Fullerton.
According to a motion filed last year to increase his $20,000 bail, Lenhardt had worked as general manager of Foam Plastics and Rubber Products since September 1990. In November 2014, an employee came across information that indicated the defendant accepted cash from a longtime customer, but did not report it, Anaheim police Detective J. Azze wrote.
Further investigation revealed Lenhardt was doctoring the books to cover his tracks, according to Azze.
Lenhardt told investigators it started with him selling scrap foam that would otherwise be thrown away, the detective said.
“Lenhardt would sell inventory to random customers out the back door and retain the cash,” Azze wrote.
He said the defendant would also order raw materials through a purchase order and then direct the company’s workers to create a product he would sell directly to a customer. About 13 of the company’s customers were paying the defendant directly, resulting in an estimated total loss to his employer of $184,250.66.