Former SSP treasurer to face theft charges
Published 12:00 am Thursday, September 26, 2002
Douglas Calhoun was indicted by the Lawrence County Grand Jury earlier this week
on 13 counts of theft in connection with $1 million in funds missing from the now-liquidated SSP Credit Union.
Calhoun, of Russell, Ky., worked as treasurer of the credit union.
He was indicted on one count of theft, a class-five felony with a maximum sentence of 12 months; two counts of aggravated theft over $100,000, class-three felonies with five-year maximum sentences; and 10 counts of grand theft of amounts between $5,000 and $100,000, class-four felonies with a maximum sentence of 18 months.
Lawrence County Prosecutor J.B. Collier Jr. said he feels the county has a solid case against Calhoun.
If convicted, the sentences could be served concurrently. The thefts allegedly occurred between Jan. 1, 1990 and May 17 of this year.
Calhoun could be arraigned in court as early as Oct. 2. The case will be heard in front of either Judge Frank McCown or Judge Richard Walton.
Calhoun was arrested May 18 on charges of theft by deception and was released on $100,000 bond. In June, the Ohio Department of Commerce declared SSP "insolvent and unsafe" and authorized American Share Insurance to liquidate the company. To date, the company has logged more than 3,000 personnel hours working on the case that they think is the largest they have ever handled, Collier said.
Because of interest that would have accumulated, ASI has paid out $3.8 million to date and is still working on the case, Collier said.