Bemidji Man Pleads Guilty To Theft

After being charged in 2015, 61-year-old Thomas Kaplan has pleaded guilty to one count of theft by diverting corporate property.

Kaplan was originally scheduled to go to trail on March 20, but his guilty plea comes over a year after he was originally charged with embezzling $200,000 from his former employer.

As of May 23 of last year Kaplan pleaded not guilty to the felony charge of theft by swindle.

Kaplan’s former employer, American Garage Door Company originally notified police of the alleged embezzlement in January of 2014.

The criminal complaint says that American Garage Door Company’s internal investigation showed that Kaplan had been diverting customer payments to bank accounts of his own, beginning in 2008.

The complaint continues to say that Kaplan allegedly diverted payments by having customers pay a company with initials similar to those of American Garage Door Supply Co.

According to the complaint, Kaplan would then give customers receipts that made it appear as if they had paid American Garage Door.

Sentencing for Kaplan will be held Thursday, April 27.