Last updated: March 16, 2016 - 4:39pm
BLOOMSBURG — A former sales manager accused of bilking his company out of more than $40,000 in customer payments on RVs and campers is ready to pay back the full amount he allegedly took, his lawyer said.
Timothy Swank is hoping that the felony charges against him might be dropped, said defense attorney William Kreisher. But District Attorney Tom Leipold says he's not offering any deal yet, and investigating Police Officer Jimmie Hill says he’s opposed to dismissing the case entirely as it involved too much money.
Swank, 45, of 309 Water St., Danville, is accused of taking the money over two years at Susquehanna RV sales in Montour Township.
He appeared Wednesday before District Judge Russell Lawton to move his case on to county court without a hearing. He remains free on unsecured bail.
Kreisher said Swank has obtained a loan for the full restitution amount of $35,774, which is being held in escrow pending the case's end.
Police charged the former sales associate and manager with stealing a total of $44,239 in 18 sales transactions. He's accused of keeping cash or checks and falsifying sales records to cover up the missing funds.
Swank did make a partial repayment to business owner Wayne Brouse of Selinsgrove last fall when confronted with a spreadsheet detailing the losses in each questionable transaction, arrest papers say.
The alleged thefts came to light after Swank suffered a heart attack last summer, and the owner and a new finance manager began personally overseeing businesss at Susquehanna RV’s Route 11 location, police said.
Kreisher said the owner had given Swank a chance to pay back the full amount before criminal charges were actually filed, but it was not enough time for him to come up with the full amount.
“I can understand his position due to the betrayal of trust of an employee who had worked successfully for him for years,” Kreisher said, adding that he had not personally contacted the business owner about resolving the case with full repayment.
The defense lawyer said Swank used the funds to pay off personal debts and property taxes before he was stricken with a heart attack.