Roach Manufacturing Corp. in Trumann recently asked a Craighead County Circuit Court judge to go ahead and place a $9 million judgment against the Jonesboro accountant who allegedly embezzled the money.
Edward M. Cooper Jr. hasn’t been charged with any crime. But the conveyor system manufacturer initially alleged in a lawsuit filed in May that Cooper embezzled $4.5 million over several years. And after doing more digging, Roach said the alleged embezzlement went back to the 1990s and totaled $9 million.
Roach asked Circuit Judge John Fogleman to award it $9 million before the case gets to trial for its claims against Cooper. The claims are breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, unjust enrichment and commission of a felony.
Roach’s filings and other evidence “demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact as to any of the stated claims, and Roach is entitled to judgment as a matter of law,” David Wilson of Friday Eldredge & Clark of Little Rock said in his motion for partial summary judgment.
As of early Thursday afternoon, Cooper had not responded to the motion, and his attorney, Bill Stanley of Jonesboro, didn’t immediately return a call. In Cooper’s answer to the amended complaint, he denied any theft or embezzlement, but he admitted that he “misappropriated monies from Roach.”
A hearing is set for Feb. 27.
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