PEARL JAM Ripped Off by Former CFO

20 June 2012
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Pearl Jam’s former chief financial officer has been charged with thirty-three counts of theft, amassing to a total of $380,000 stolen from 2006 until 2010, when he was ultimately fired.

Overall, Seattle Police claim that Goodrich’s thievery has cost the band a total of $566,000, including the expenses of the investigation of the case.

Prosecutors claim that Goodrich transferred large sums of money from Pearl Jam’s accounts to pay personal debts held by both himself and his wife.

In addition, he is alleged to have used band credit cards for personal gain such as family vacations as well as, according to Seattle Detective Stacy Litsjo, “Amazon.com, various hotels, restaurants, iTunes, and airplane tickets for himself and family members…”

Litsjo says that Goodrich was hired by Pearl Jam Touring Co. in 2005 as an accountant and financial officer and rose up the ranks of the organization over the years to become in charge of all of the band’s touring money, which was quite a bit.

Eventually, the band’s manager became concerned with Goodrich’s management of the funds and began to conduct a review of “cash flow issues.”

The investigation eventually uncovered that Goodrich claimed to have paid large amounts of money to members of the band and crew which, in reality, were unaccounted for.

The investigative team was able to identify many large wire transfers initiated by Goodrich that were later determined to have gone to pay his personal debts.

When Goodrich was initially confronted by the investigators, he claimed to have repaid his loans and debts to the company, but after he was fired from the organization in 2010, he admitted to owing $300,000 to the band.

Goodrich has been charged with twenty five counts of first-degree theft and eight counts of second-degree theft, but has declined to comment on the situation or enter an initial plea.
 

Source: antiquiet.com