A Brookhaven contractor who took money from multiple clients and failed to follow through on projects pleaded guilty to various charges across nine different criminal cases.
George Cook, 45, formerly of Holmes, entered negotiated guilty pleas to two counts of theft by unlawful taking and eight counts of receiving advance payment for services and failing to perform, also known as contractor fraud.
Common Pleas Court Judge Mary Alice Brennan sentenced Cook to 11½ to 23 months, but will allow him to remain out of jail on a home monitor so that he can continue working to make restitution.
Under the negotiated guilty plea worked out by Deputy District Attorney Doug Rhoads and defense counsel Jason Price, Cook was given credit for time served from July 18, 2025, through Feb. 25, 2026, when he went on the monitor.
After completion of the monitor portion of his sentence, Cook will have to…
PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.