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Ex-Tampa Tribune Employee, Wife Accused Of Defrauding Company

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 5, 2009

Updated: 02/05/2009 06:50 pm

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Charles T. Wilson

TAMPA - For 10 years, Tampa Tribune credit manager Charles T. Wilson used his job to steal more than $1 million from the newspaper and its advertisers, federal investigators say.

Wilson and his wife, Lynda, were arrested today on a federal mail fraud charge, accused of using their home-based credit collection company to funnel money from the newspaper.

According to complaints filed in U.S. District Court, the Wilsons created their company, CCL Services, in 1995. From August 1998 to May 2008, the couple received about 129 checks totaling almost $500,000 in payments from the Tribune and its parent company, Media General, for services they never provided.

The Wilsons also are accused of diverting more than 200 checks totaling more than $571,000 that were destined for Tribune advertisers who were owed money.

In one case, the forged signature of a deceased car dealer was used to endorse a check deposited into their collection company's account, investigators say.

Most of the checks were sent to CCL Services or other addresses under the couple's control, including Wilson's office at the Tribune, and deposited to bank accounts they controlled.

Checks from the CCL account were written to a private Christian school, a country club and a pool company, among others, according to the complaints.

Charles Wilson, 58, was fired in May. He had worked for the Tribune since 1992.

In a statement, Tribune Publisher Denise Palmer said the company recouped most of its losses from its insurance carrier and issued refunds or credits to customers.

"In addition, Media General has implemented additional internal control functions at all company locations to prevent a similar occurrence. … We are pleased that the federal government is aggressively pursuing this course of action against Mr. Wilson," Palmer said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Palermo told U.S. Magistrate Elizabeth Jenkins that his office is in plea negotiations with Lynda Wilson, 47, an employee in the pre-suit litigation department of the law firm Morgan & Morgan.

Jenkins released the Wilsons on $75,000 signature bond each.

The Wilsons filed for bankruptcy last month, claiming assets of $435,150 and liabilities of nearly $1.1 million. Their main asset was their $400,000 Lutz home.

According to the federal complaints, CCL Services had only one client: the Tribune.

By 1998, the Wilsons had stopped collecting legitimate debts and simply begun submitting invoices to the Tribune that Charles Wilson approved for payment, the complaints state.

The fraud unraveled May 16 while Charles Wilson was on vacation.

Jeanine Lantaigne, the Tribune's credit collection supervisor, received an angry call from Barry Thorne, owner of Tampa Bay Aquarium Supply, whose Tribune account had been frozen because of nonpayment.

Lantaigne discovered that Wilson, her boss, had redirected two of Thorne's payments to himself. She went to Wilson's boss, Tribune Controller Robert Amos, and the company began an internal investigation.

Four days later, Amos and the Tribune's human resources manager, Ric Sierra, confronted Wilson, who couldn't explain why his home address was on the checks. Wilson was put on unpaid suspension and then fired, the complaints state.

Wilson agreed to cooperate with the Tribune's investigation, but then wanted to see what proof the newspaper had, according to the complaints. The day after his firing, Wilson offered to turn over his 401(k).

Wilson told Sierra and another Tribune employee that he needed money to care for his ill parents, and that his credit was overextended.

On Aug. 15, Sierra allowed the Secret Service to record a meeting he had with Wilson during which Wilson offered to pay restitution, including an immediate payment of $38,000. He also offered to pay $1,000 a month and put his house up for sale, the complaints state.

Asked to describe vulnerabilities in the Tribune's accounting system, Wilson "described the lax oversight, particularly over approval for refund checks," the complaints state. He said he diverted funds for customers he knew were no longer at the addresses where the checks were to be sent.

The day Wilson was suspended he received an e-mail at his Tribune address from his wife's Morgan & Morgan e-mail address, the complaints state.

"I closed the account and got the money," the e-mail said. "You should probably find out where the unemployment office is and sign up. Those idiots pay unemployment insurance and you should get something out of it."

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837 or esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.

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