He’s accused of pocketing $359,000 for Pasco ‘ghost’ workers. Plea deal will let him go free

A former ranch foreman accused of cashing 575 checks for “ghost employees” has taken a deal that could clear his name in two years.

Camilo Mendez Jr., 36, did not admit stealing nearly $359,000 from Washington Fruit & Produce Co. over a 16-month period. But he agreed to allow the case to be continued.

If he stays out of trouble during that time, Franklin County prosecutors will drop the theft charge. The former Connell wrestling coach already has felony convictions for having a sexual relationship with a student and possessing cocaine.

The most recent order comes two weeks after his trial ended in a mistrial when the first witness answered a question in a way that was prejudicial to Mendez.

His attorney Scott Johnson said he felt confident Mendez would be acquitted, but said “it would not have been good legal advice” to tell Mendez to face a second jury and a potential guilty verdict rather than take the two-year delay.

“If you’re being offered a long (continuance) where you’re guaranteed to have a dismissal at the end, and you want to roll your dice with a jury, you’re out of your mind,” said Johnson. “This guarantees the outcome with very few conditions.”

The theft case, filed in March 2016, included the aggravating circumstance that it was a major economic offense involving multiple victims, a monetary loss that was greater than is typical and an abuse of a position of trust.

Mendez of Othello worked for Jayhawk Orchard in Pasco since 2009 and was fired in 2015. Washington Fruit in Yakima handles the payroll for the orchard.

A forensic accountant hired by Washington Fruit determined the payroll scheme involved at least 28 ghost employees who did not work the hours attributed to them and the issuance of 575 fraudulent checks. Of those checks, 557 were cashed at Mr. Qwik’s in Eltopia, including 59 on one day.

The theft allegedly happened between January 2014 and April 2015.

Deputy Prosecutor Maureen Astley said she offered to drop the charges in two years because her office doesn’t have direct evidence tying Mendez to the theft. “It’s circumstantial as to his duties and opportunities to have done it, but nothing direct in terms of bank records or search warrants on company computers,” she said.

Also, a former payroll employee who was supposed to be a prosecution witness is now suing the company and is no longer responding to phone calls about Mendez’s case, Astley said.

Mendez was responsible for hiring both seasonal and year-round work crews, turning in employees’ weekly hours to payroll in the corporate office and passing out the paychecks.

Astley claims he submitted fraudulent time sheets, using the names of people who used to be on the payroll but no longer worked for the company.

Mendez’s wife worked in the payroll department for Washington Fruit, Astley said. She quit after her husband was fired.

Astley said Mendez will be monitored for any other criminal violations.

He also agreed not to hold a position of trust with any company for the next two years and to pay a $250 jury demand fee for the first trial.

A restitution hearing will be held in early 2018. Astley has not determined yet how much she will ask for, but Johnson said they will fight any amount since his client didn’t admit stealing any money.

If Mendez gets in trouble in the next two years, the order will be revoked and he will end up in a trial before a judge. A theft conviction would bring four months to a year in the county jail.

While the convenience store’s role in cashing the fraudulent checks was suspicious, Astley said they had no evidence to charge the owner.

Johnson said the Glade North Road store owner was expected to testify for the defense that Mendez and his wife hardly cashed any checks there. When they did, they were required to show identification, he said.

The state crime lab’s handwriting analysis found that samples from Mendez and his wife either excluded them or were inconclusive to the check endorsements that were believed to be forged, according to both Astley and Johnson.

Washington Fruit’s investigation showed that payroll expenses for Jayhawk Orchard were “extraordinarily high compared with other orchards of similar size” owned and operated by the company, court documents said.

One month after Mendez was fired, payroll expenses for that orchard dropped $76,500, documents said.

Mendez “was the only one to have had the opportunity to perpetrate the fraud,” Astley wrote.

Mendez has a 2009 felony conviction in Benton County for possessing cocaine.

And in 2014 he was convicted of the sex offense. He currently is charged in Franklin County for failing to register as a sex offender. His trial is Dec. 13.

Mendez was sentenced to six months in jail after admitting one count of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor.

Mendez, who cooperated with that investigation, was in a relationship with the girl for three months in 2012-13 before the teen broke it off.

He was a coach for the boys wrestling team when he met the student.

The two claimed the relationship was consensual. However, Mendez was a school employee and the girl was a registered high school student.

This story was originally published November 3, 2017 at 12:40 PM with the headline "He’s accused of pocketing $359,000 for Pasco ‘ghost’ workers. Plea deal will let him go free."