CLYDE THOMAS BEARD, 45, formerly of Anchorage, Alaska, pleaded guilty today to Mail Fraud in U.S. District Court in Seattle. BEARD, a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Alaska, is the former Chief Financial Officer of NANA Services, LLC, a subsidiary of NANA Development Corporation (“NDC”), an Alaskan Native corporation based in Anchorage, Alaska. BEARD was terminated from NANA in February 2008. When sentenced by U.S. District Judge Marsha J. Pechman on January 8, 2010, BEARD faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to the plea agreement, between April 2005 and February 2008, BEARD submitted expense reports to his employer that vastly inflated the amount of money NANA owed to BEARD for purchases he had made. Some of the unlawful reimbursement was sent to BEARD and some was sent directly to credit card companies to pay for items BEARD claimed he had purchased for the Alaska Native corporation. For example, BEARD submitted bills for reimbursement for Dell computers he never purchased and for travel that was not business related. BEARD used his corporate credit card to purchase a diamond ring, a 42" flat panel TV, Seattle Seahawks merchandise, and to pay his cable bills. The plea agreement acknowledges that BEARD used his special skill as a CPA to conceal the embezzlement. In all BEARD illegally took about $188,000 from the corporation.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jim Lord.

For additional information please contact Emily Langlie, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney’s Office, at (206) 553-4110 or Emily.Langlie@USDOJ.Gov.

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