Blaine Francis Houser, a senior vice president of Icon Communications in Russellville, waived indictment and pleaded guilty Tuesday to a single count of mail fraud in a case that cost his employer more than a quarter million dollars.
Houser, 52, had worked for Icon from April 2001 to April 2015, and his scheme to make personal purchases on a company-paid account lasted from September 2012 until the end of his employment there, according to documents filed by federal prosecutors.
In waiving his right to be indicted by a grand jury, Houser pleaded guilty to a charge filed directly by the U.S. Attorney Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas. That charge, called an information, includes only sketchy details of the crime.
More: Read the charges in the case here, and read the full plea agreement here.
It says Houser signed a commercial credit application for Icon with Blue Tarp Financial Inc. of Portland, Maine, in September 2012. He then ordered tools from Northern Tool & Equipment Co. of Burnsville, Minnesota, and had them delivered to his home in Dover, near Russellville in Pope County.
The invoices were sent to Icon, where Houser then paid them with company checks.
Only one payment, a check for less than $2,000 mailed to Blue Tarp Financial in September 2013, is specifically described in the information. But the information and the plea agreement that Houser entered with federal First Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Harris indicate that his scheme defrauded his employer of more than $250,000.
“Following this purchase there were other instances of mail fraud committed by Houser, who agreed as part of a plea agreement to pay restitution in the amount of $255,606.52 to Icon,” according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Christopher Thyer’s office.
Houser entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Kristine G. Baker, who will sentence him at a later date. The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service. Houser is represented by Little Rock attorney Jeff Rosenzweig.
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