В A groundskeeper treated like a family member by his bosses — ’80s rock band Whitesnake founder David Coverdale and his wife, CindyВ (pictured below)В — was given a punishment of six months in jail and ordered to repay nearly $70,000 of the $287,000 that he stole from the Incline Village couple according to the Reno-Gazette Journal.
Washoe Judge Patrick Flanagan sentenced Eric Hosmer, 44 (small picture), of Incline Village, to probation for two counts of felony theft and ordered that he pay restitution of more than $69,000. Though he ordered the county jail time, Flanagan suspended two state prison terms of one to four years each.
The celebrity couple said they hired Hosmer in 2009 as a groundskeeper/maintenance man. He was treated like family, with the couple celebrating his birthday and giving him money to fund his wedding, but he stole from them anyway, Cindy Coverdale said.
“He’s an amazing con man and liar,” she said, adding that he did not deserve probation and would be a threat to someone else.
David Coverdale said that Hosmer stole from them on a daily basis. “He’s a deceiver, liar and a thief,” the 60-year-old vocalist said in a short statement to Flanagan.
Hosmer was arrested in March, soon after the theft was discovered by a financial adviser. Flanagan said Hosmer ran a sophisticated scam of giving the couple fraudulent invoices for day labor workers and for home maintenance.
