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Complaint: Controller dipped into Jabil's cash

Investigators say that the ex-employee wrote more than 100 checks for himself.

By SCOTT BARANCIK
Published March 4, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Patrick Henry Stewart held a key financial job inside Jabil Circuit Inc. As a corporate controller at the company's St. Petersburg headquarters, a $60,000-a-year post, he issued more than 1,100 company checks to vendors over a two-year period.

The problem, federal investigators and the electronics manufacturer say, is that Stewart cut quite a few of those checks for himself.

According to complaints filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office, the 41-year-old Tampa resident stole more than 10 percent of the company checks he wrote and used them to buy a Nissan 350Z convertible, install 350 feet of crown molding in his Hunter's Green home, and make $370,000 in payments to American Express, among other uses. He even used a company check to pay his property tax bill.

His total take: $1.8-million. Stewart denies the allegations in court papers.

Jabil's internal and external auditors never detected the alleged scheme. The company said it ended only after a female subordinate phoned an anonymous complaint to its Integrity Hotline in February 2005, a whistle-blower tool Jabil established after the Enron and Arthur Andersen scandals erupted. Audit chief Daryn Smith and general counsel Bob Paver conducted an internal investigation before firing Stewart a month later.

After Jabil reported the allegations to law enforcement officials, the U.S. Secret Service conducted its own inquiry.

No criminal charges have been filed; U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Steve Cole declined to say whether they will be. Stewart did not return two messages left on his answering machine Friday. His attorney, former FBI agent and federal prosecutor Todd Foster, whose resume includes the successful defense of embattled parents Steven and Marlene Aisenberg, declined to comment.

But a government complaint filed Tuesday aims to seize three of Stewart's cars, a brokerage account and a motor scooter, while a prior complaint seeks his home. Secret Service Special Agent Christina Fuller said Stewart eventually told Jabil officials he misused at least 120 of 1,145 checks he wrote.

So far, Jabil - which has more than 1,500 workers locally and is one of two Fortune 500 companies in the bay area - hasn't needed the government's help getting Stewart to repay some of his debt.

According to Paver, a former Pinellas County prosecutor, Stewart has returned more than $1.1-million to the company. Though he repaid most of the funds by cash or check, Stewart's law firm hand-delivered some of his hard assets, including a 2.2-pound gold bar, a gold-plated National Rifle Association Tribute Colt .45 pistol and local concert tickets.

"We intend to aggressively pursue every asset that he has," Paver said, adding that he wants Stewart to serve jail time. Jabil is considering a civil-theft lawsuit, which could earn the company triple damages if successful.

Stewart and his wife share a Tampa home he bought for $186,000 in 1995. He obtained a Certified Public Accountant's license the same year and went to work at Celotex Corp. The Tampa building-materials maker promoted Stewart to assistant controller of financial operations and planning in 1997. His CPA license expired in 1999. Jabil hired him as an assistant corporate controller in 2001.

Stewart recently served as treasurer of his homeowner's association in Hunter's Green. He has no local criminal record.

According to the government's complaints, Stewart began stealing funds after he was named corporate controller of Jabil Global Services, the company's repair and warranty unit, in mid 2003. The role made him supervisor of the unit's site controllers and responsible for paying its vendors, such as software or janitorial companies.

To pay vendors, Stewart would get on a computer, log onto Jabil's accounting system, and ask the system to create several checks. The system would wire the checks to Stewart, who would then print them out on company stock.

Stewart is accused of addressing some checks directly to a personal creditor, such as L.L. Bean or Bank of America. He issued some others in his own name and deposited them in a GTE Credit Union account he used to pay bills, the government claims. Jabil's accounting system allowed him to change the payee on a check before printing it, an option Paver said has been removed.

Stewart allegedly put some of the money toward home improvements. He used another chunk to buy cars and after-market upgrades. Still more cash went into precious metals and other investments. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were used to make payments on home equity loans, lines of credit and credit cards he obtained. It is not clear what he bought with the borrowed funds.

Paver, Jabil's general counsel, said the reason Stewart was able to go undetected for nearly two years was because the Global Services unit was a relatively small and new acquisition that hadn't been exposed to all of the company's financial controls. The loopholes, Paver said, have been closed.

Jabil did not fire anyone for failing to catch Stewart. Internal audit chief Smith and outside auditor KPMG remain in their positions.

"Sometimes no matter what you do, you're going to be at risk of people that are dishonest, especially in a company of this size," Paver said. "The key is to have honest folks work for you."

Times researcher Angie Drobnic Holan contributed to this report. Scott Barancik can be reached at barancik@sptimes.com or 727 893-8751.

[Last modified March 4, 2006, 01:48:04]