Elgin man gets probation for theft
An Elgin man was sentenced to 30 months probation Tuesday and ordered to repay his former employer more than $65,000 for selling stolen flash drives online.
Lake County Circuit Judge Victoria Rossetti also ordered Justin Murphy, 27, to spend 45 days on home confinement after accepting his guilty plea to unlawful online sale of stolen property.
Assistant State's Attorney Mary Stanton said Murphy, of the 1800 block of Mark Avenue, was fired from his job at CDW in Vernon Hills on Oct. 17, 2007.
Between April 4 and Aug. 17 of last year, Stanton said, Murphy gained access to the company's marketing web portal and had the company mail him thousands of USB drives.
Murphy then sold the drives, which Stanton said had a retail price of $10 to $14 each, at deep discounts on various online sites.
An audit at CDW uncovered the missing merchandise and police traced the mailings to Murphy.
In pleading guilty, Murphy agreed to repay the company $65,372 during the period of his probation.
Stanton said Murphy faced up to seven years in prison if he had been convicted after a trial.