Man accused of embezzlement in Leesburg has died at age 54

Prosecutors have dropped charges against a man accused of embezzling $400,000 from his employer for a tough, practical reason: He’s dead.

Randy Brett Lee, 54, worked for the Leesburg hazardous materials management company Infotrac Inc. until September 2022, when he was arrested and charged with grand theft and scheme to defraud.

He died on April 24 this year while under hospice care.

The probable cause affidavit listed 36 bullet points and ran for nine pages, charging Lee with brazenly claiming commissions he was not entitled to and falsifying records.

Lee’s employment contract had been changed, giving him a raise to a base salary of $165,000 and a 12 percent commission. However, the contract ended his commissions for certain sales.

The state’s discovery filing listed 117 pages of investigation evidence collected by the Leesburg Police Department, including the allegation of “threatening/extortion.”

That part apparently refers to the intimidation of employees. The president’s assistant, for example, was training with a new accounting manager in 2019. The former manager quit when the president called for new software to keep track of commissions.

The assistant said Lee was “a longtime employee (25 years) and carried himself as one of the company’s owners, often speaking of his importance and role in the company’s success.” Lee said he had a “close relationship with the president of the company and he used it to his advantage to mistreat and intimidate employees.”

Lee was the director of marketing.

Another section of the affidavit says: “The accounting manager stated that the defendant made it known to the employees that he was ‘untouchable’ and she was warned by the previous accounting manager to ‘play the game’ and not do anything to upset the defendant.”

Eventually, however, the assistant and accounting manager brought the discrepancies to the attention of the president, who questioned Lee.

Shortly afterward, the president walked into Lee’s office and saw him taking pictures off the wall and packing up his personal belongings. Lee said he was going to take 10 personal time-off days.

“Who takes all their pictures off the walls when going on a 10-day PTO?” the president asked.

“I won’t quit! You will have to fire me!” Lee said.

The president said he had no intention of firing him.

Later, the president took him to lunch to ask about family leave time and short-term disability due to a chronic health condition. After lunch, Lee left the building and the president never saw him again.

Among the allegations was that Lee gave himself a 20 percent commission instead of 12.5 percent; authorized commissions to employees who were not entitled; falsely claimed bonuses for “saving” contracts that were not terminated; and overbilling clients, which had to be remedied for a total of more than $10,000.

The company operates a 24/7 command center to chemical emergencies. It also manages reporting systems for companies and provides hazmat training.

The crimes took place over four years but may have gone on longer, according to investigators.

Infotrac’s CEO could not be reached for comment.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Ex-Infotrac executive accused of embezzlement has died