An accountant and cashier for the Charleston Town Center Marriott is accused of embezzling thousands of dollars over the past 11 years from the hotel.
Federal prosecutors charged Mark Kuhn this week with wire fraud, alleging he embezzled more than $950,000 from the hotel by posting false information in the hotel's accounting system, which was transmitted to the computer server at Marriott headquarters in Frederick, Maryland.
The felony charge, unsealed Wednesday, was brought against Kuhn in the form of an information, which can't be filed without a defendant's consent and usually signals a defendant has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
As an accountant and general cashier, Kuhn was tasked with collecting and depositing the daily proceeds from various departments in the hotel. His job duties also required him to account for the cash and deposits in the hotel's records.
Cash from the gift shop and restaurant, among other places in the hotel, is deposited and recorded on the hotel's electronic accounting system. Information entered on that system is transmitted to the company's private server, located at company headquarters.
In November 2005, Kuhn began secretly taking part of the cash for himself, wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Wright. Kuhn created fake ledger entries to make it appear as if the hotel had paid out cash for goods and services when it hadn't.
Kuhn allegedly used the money to pay off credit card debt, to take vacations and to buy vehicles and other personal items. The alleged scheme continued until Feb. 20 of this year, according to the charging document.
"Kuhn concealed his embezzlement by creating and posting false entries, that is, fictitious expenses, on the general ledger in the hotel's electronic accounting system," the filing states. "The false entries made it appear as if the hotel had paid out cash for goods or services, when in fact the hotel had not made such payments."
Ramona Jackson, general manager of the Charleston hotel, couldn't immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
Kuhn's case has been appointed to U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston. He is being represented by the Federal Public Defender's Office.
Reach Kate White at
kate.white@wvgazettemail.com,
304-348-1723 or follow
@KateLWhite on Twitter.