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Photonic: CFO Stole $800,000 Over Years

Posted on: Wednesday, 28 June 2006, 00:00 CDT

By Kathleen Lynn, The Record, Hackensack, N.J.

Jun. 27--A top executive of the Photonic Products Group Inc. used more than $800,000 in corporate funds for his personal expenses, the Northvale high-tech company said Monday.

In a filing with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, Photonic Products said its former chief financial officer, William Miraglia, took the money over a six-year period by using the company's debit card for personal expenses and writing checks on the company's account.

Among the payments was $94,500 to the Internal Revenue Service to pay for a personal tax levy, the company said.

Some suspicious transactions were discovered in May, around the time Miraglia stepped down as CFO, although he remained employed as controller until he was fired June 14 amid a wider investigation.

The company said Miraglia has agreed to make restitution, but it does not believe he will be able to do so.

The company will attempt to recover part of the loss under its employee dishonesty insurance policy.

Photonic Products, which reported income of $202,000 on revenue of $3.7 million in the quarter that ended March 31, said Miraglia's actions would not affect its financial results.

CEO Daniel Lehrfeld said Monday that it is too early to say whether the company will press criminal charges against Miraglia, who joined Photonic Products in 1999.

The company is continuing to investigate.

The company said it plans to cancel the corporate debit card and require two authorized signatures on any check of $5,000 or more, among other steps to tighten financial controls.

Miraglia could not be reached for comment.

Photonic Products, which had 102 employees as of Dec. 31, supplies optical components and laser accessories to universities, laboratories and the telecommunications industry.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Record, Hackensack, N.J.

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Source: The Record - Hackensack, New Jersey

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