Accountant Sentenced for Embezzlement
A former Oxnard accountant has been sentenced to nine years in state prison for embezzling more than $1 million from two charities that raise money for mentally disabled residents.
Paul E. Peachey, 61, owned a company that for 18 years provided accounting services for thrift stores run by the Foundation for Retarded Citizens of Ventura County and the Santa Maria Assn. for the Retarded Foundation.
Authorities said that, over a nearly four-year period, he altered checks made out to him or his company and used some of the money to build a 5,400-square-foot home on 20 acres in Tulare County.
The Ventura County Superior Court judge also ordered Peachey to pay $880,000 in restitution to the charities.
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