FARMINGTON – Two men accused of participating in the theft of more than $100,000 utilizing fraudulent gas reward points recently pleaded guilty to theft charges and paid nearly $38,000 in restitution.
Scott Lavoie, 54 of Wilton, pleaded guilty on Nov. 22 to a misdemeanor count of theft by unauthorized taking, while Kevin Farrington, 19 of Jay, pleaded guilty to the same charge on Dec. 2. Both men received an unconditional discharge, as part of an arranged plea that resulted in Lavoie paying $31,783 and Farrington paying $5,000 in restitution to Gould’s Service Station.
According to police, six employees of that gas station were involved in the theft of more than $100,000 in fraudulently redeemed reward points on gas card accounts. In addition to Lavoie and Farrington, four others were originally charged: Zachary Armstrong, 19 of Wilton; Preston Riley, 18 of Wilton; and two juveniles – one arrested and one issued a summons.
Wilton police investigated various elements of the reward program and the business after the owner of the service station approached police back in March. In May, Wilton Police Officer Ethan Kyes received information from Exxon Mobile regarding the Internet Protocol addresses used to set up reward cards connected to the alleged theft. Kyes used those IP addresses to locate local-area addresses and then interviewed employees of the service station. Per the affidavit filed by Kyes, a number of those individuals admitted to their own and other’s culpability.
All four of the adults were indicted in October on felony theft charges by the Franklin County grand jury. Of those four, only the cases against Riley and Armstrong have yet to be resolved. According to information previously provided by the District Attorney’s Office, the two juveniles admitted to misdemeanors through the juvenile court system in relation to the case.
Wow…The penalty for Grand Theft has sure been reduced has it not ? Must be the ‘Progressive Movement’ seeing crime different these days…
Who gets the $38000? And who pays the rest of the “more than $100,000” ?
The answer to both is owner of Gould’s service station.
So much for “An eye for an eye”. Such a lienient penalty for the guilty pleas and the two “not guilty” pleas really sets a poor example for future felons to commit more crimes knowing the punishment will be minimal. Very sad.
When do they get sentenced.
By the look of sheer terror on Mr Lavoies face I would say at least the justice system may have scared him straight.
Those who are judging these people or the justice system, if you feel such a need to have your opinions heard or matter, go be a juror or go to law school. Little good does it actually do in a little comment box on an online paper.