Man Accused of Stealing $1 Million From Employer

By Bay City News Service

A Rohnert Park man has pleaded not guilty in Sonoma County Superior Court to embezzling an estimated $1 million from the Petaluma company where he worked for 15 years.

John Sheehan, 43, used at least $90,000 to make improvements on the outside of his home, including installing a pool and Jacuzzi and televisions, Deputy District Attorney Amy Ariyoshi said.

Sheehan was the manager of information systems at Bibbero Systems Inc., which makes custom medical charts, color-coded folders and other office supplies.

Ariyoshi said Sheehan set up a company, MP Technologies, and fictitious vendors in 2006 and billed Bibbero Systems Inc. for office supplies that were never provided. Sheehan then cashed the checks in his name and used them for his home improvements and other personal needs.

The alleged embezzlement came to light when an office manager questioned one of the invoices from MP Technologies, learned its phone number was disconnected and researched it on the Internet. She then learned the company did not exist, according to Bibbero Systems Inc. President Michael Buckley, who talked to a reporter after Sheehan appeared in court on Friday.

"I dropped the ball," Buckley said. "I didn't make sure all our systems were air-tight."

Bibbero Systems Inc. has been in business since 1953, and Buckley has been running the company since 1972. The company once employed more than 100 employees but now has 70. The medical chart production business is down since medical records are now available online, Buckley said.

"He's very clever. We trusted him," Buckley said about his former information systems manager.

Sheehan is charged with one count of theft and seven counts of receiving known stolen property. The known loss to Bibbero Systems Inc. is more than $1 million, Ariyoshi said.

Sheehan, also known as John C. Schoenthal, faces a maximum of 12 years in prison if he's convicted. A settlement conference is scheduled in court Aug. 21.

Judge Robert LaForge ordered Sheehan to surrender his passport. Sheehan is being held in the Sonoma County jail.