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Ex-Continental Express exec convicted
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The former president of Continental Express Inc. has been found guilty of defrauding the trucking company and its owner out of $872,000.
A federal jury acquitted Kelly Wooldridge of credit card fraud Thursday but convicted him of mail fraud conspiracy after hearing testimony for over a week, including descriptions from his co-defendant Todd Tiefel, the company's former chief financial officer.
U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright will set a sentencing date after receiving a pre-sentence report in about two months. Wooldridge faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Continental Express was based in Little Rock but was sold in December to Celadon Trucking Services Inc. of Indianapolis, leading to the layoff of more than 250 employees.
Jurors convicted Wooldridge, 50, of mail-fraud conspiracy for allegedly defrauding the company and company owner Ed Harvey between November 2002 and May 2005. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Whatley told jurors that Wooldridge and Tiefel schemed to divert funds away from Harvey's businesses.
Tiefel pleaded guilty last year and testified against Wooldridge during the trial. Tiefell is to be sentenced Tuesday.
Whatley presented documents she said explain how the two men diverted $439,866 in checks from Gibraltar National Insurance Co. into an account they created called Great Western, although the checks were intended for deposit into Harvey's account of the same name.
Whatley said the documents show similar diversions of $77,000 paid to Harvey's companies by Ashley Tractor & Trailer for equipment and of $43,472 in profits from trailer rental fees. The federal prosecutor also said that Wooldridge stole $25,000 from Harvey's personal account to set up a small hunting club and secretly paid himself $286,153 in salary from another Harvey business.
Wooldridge attorney Kenneth Shemin of Fayetteville argued that his client's activities were legal and were carried out at Harvey's direction. Shemin suggested to jurors that Tiefel lied to them because he had "cut a deal" with Harvey, whom Shemin suggested was faking Alzheimer's disease.
Kevin Jones of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at [email protected].