Homebuilder's Former Employee Charged With Fraud

BROOKSVILLE A sales manager for Royal Coachman Homes in Spring Hill bilked his employer out of more than $700,000 in the last five years by drawing up and cashing more than 160 fraudulent sales commission checks, authorities say.

William Martinez, 63, of 12059 Buckingham Way in Spring Hill, was arrested at his home Friday, according to an arrest affidavit and court documents. He is charged with six counts of organized fraud and one count of grand theft.

Martinez had worked at Royal Coachman for some 17 years, though it was unclear Monday when he stopped working there. As sales manager, his duties included preparing sales contracts and presenting commission checks to the company's sales associates, according to an affidavit from the Hernando County Sheriff's Office.

From July 2002 to February 2008, Martinez created and either cashed or deposited 163 commission checks totaling between $700,000 and $800,000, Assistant State Attorney Don Barbee said Monday. The amount of each check ranged from $1,500 to $11,500.

Each check was made payable to one of eight sales associates and featured the forged signature of one of either President Joseph Mazzuco or Vice President Mary Mazzuco, the affidavit states. All the checks were endorsed by Martinez and had "pay to William Martinez" written on the back.

None of the associates contacted by investigators said they shared their checks or gave Martinez permission to sign their names, the affidavit said.

The Mazzucos, their accounting manager and other staffers discovered the checks during a review of the books.

"They were able to uncover them through some forensic accounting they did," Barbee said.

The Mazzucos alerted authorities on Sept. 18, sheriff's office spokeswoman Sgt. Donna Black said.

Martinez was taken to Hernando County Jail and given a bond of $302,000, but a judge reduced that amount and Martinez was released after posting a bond of $32,000, jail records show. A court date has been set for Jan. 13.

A listed phone number for Martinez has been disconnected.

"We were totally floored," Joe Mazzuco said Monday when asked about his reaction to the alleged crime.

Mazzuco described Martinez as "cordial, polite, helpful, you name it," he said.

"If you run into people who know him and told them about this, they'd say you were out of your mind," Mazzuco said.

When company officials found out what Martinez was up to and called him on July 24, they never heard from him again, Mazzuco said.

Royal Coachman has been building custom homes in the area for more than 30 years, according to the company's Web site. The company's homes can be found in communities such as Hernando Oaks in Brooksville, Woodland Waters in Spring Hill and Sugarmill Woods in Homosassa.

Joe Mazzuco, who served as president of the Hernando County Builders Association from 1999 to 2000, said Royal Coachman has had to "cut way back" because of the building slump and faltering economy, but the company is still "solvent."

If Martinez is tried and convicted, he could be ordered to pay restitution, but Mazzuco said he held little hope of recovering any of the money. He said investigators told him they haven't been able to find any of the money Martinez might have stashed away.

"I would love it, but I don't think that's going to happen," he said.