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Men plead guilty to stealing funds from Amgen
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More from Other NewsTwo men are facing five years each in prison after pleading guilty this week in Ventura County Superior Court to stealing more than $300,000 from biotech giant Amgen Inc. of Thousand Oaks.
Deputy District Attorney Shirley Hayton said Wednesday that Robert Troy Nipar, 44, and Jason Rimmer, 37, will be sentenced Jan. 11 after they pleaded guilty to one count of felony grand theft.
The delay in sentencing allows both men an opportunity to pay full restitution before they are sentenced, said Hayton. The two men are out on bail.
They were charged in June following a 10-month investigation by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, according to prosecutors.
Rimmer, a San Mateo resident who worked as an event planner with Amgen, gave Nipar information to set up American Express merchant accounts for fictitious businesses with names very similar to Amgen's legitimate vendors, according to Hayton.
She said Nipar, of Simi Valley, then charged Amgen's American Express account for non-existent services and forwarded false invoices to Rimmer, who approved them for payment.
The funds that were paid were deposited into Nipar's bank account.
"They just used the money to enhance their lifestyles," Hayton said.
She said the case could serve as a reminder that business people shouldn't have complete trust in anybody when it comes to their company finances.
"Too much trust is placed in one individual and not enough supervision," she said, adding that it is always prudent to check bank statements, credit card statementsand other financial records.
"You have to police your own business," Hayton said.
Posted by dr_l_ron_bumquist on September 19, 2007 at 10:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
On a related note:
Kevin Sharer guilty of stealing millions from Amgen stockholders and destroying a Great American Success Story!
Film at 11.
Posted by AnnaWhaat on September 20, 2007 at 7:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Well I do not believe its entirely the companies fault. Its the thieves they hired and put trust into.
Posted by dana1230 on September 20, 2007 at 8:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
tnie1809 - you are quite obsessed with us. Do you have Amgen-envy? How many times did you apply and get turned down to make you so bitter?
Posted by dana1230 on September 20, 2007 at 9:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
You were where? Across the street wishing they'd let you wash their toilets or throw out their trash? Now who is self-absorbed? "I was there"....evidently you weren't...and that is what is bothering you.
Posted by dana1230 on September 20, 2007 at 9:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
By your own admission.
Posted by imn93002 on September 20, 2007 at 11:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
When Amgen went from a science based CEO to a CEO who's background was exclusively mergers and acquisitions at a big brokerage house, it began going down hill. I know because I was there during that transition period. One of the reasons, among many, that I went to work there because of the principles that Amgen stood for and left when those principles evaporated a couple of years after Kevin Sharer took over.
Posted by BeaHappi on September 21, 2007 at 9:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
tnie1809...take a deep breath. Now let it out...let go of the bitterness you feel towards Amgen. Seriously, it can't be good to keep hold of that much resentment.
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