A 39-year-old accountant in southern Minnesota has admitted forging more than 100 checks from his former employer's account and collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars, which he used for several years to pay bills and buy a lake home.
Ronald L. Schaeffer, of Faribault, pleaded guilty last week in federal court in Minneapolis to bank fraud totaling $432,504 while he was the sole in-house accountant for Environmental Tillage Systems Inc. of Faribault.
He used the money from August 2008 to April 2012 to build the lake house in Elysian, Minn. He also was accused of using the money to make payments on home-equity and car loans.
Schaeffer faces up to 30 years in prison, as well as fines and orders of forfeiture. Sentencing has not been scheduled.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
