Pearl Jam manager admits to bilking band
Posted: Sat December 21, 2013 10:20 pm
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/ ... 082439.php
A former executive with Pearl Jam accused of bilking the band for years has pleaded guilty to felony theft charges.
Filing charges in June, King County prosecutors claimed Rickey Charles Goodrich used his position as chief financial officer at Pearl Jam’s management company, Curtis Management, to steal $380,000 in the four years before he was fired in September 2010.
Seattle Police claim Goodrich’s thefts cost the management company $566,000, including investigative expenses. Goodrich, a 55-year-old resident of Novato, Calif., is also alleged to have admitted to admitted to owing his former employer hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Goodrich pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree theft. Prosecutors will likely ask that Goodrich be sentenced to six months in jail when he is sentenced in February. If Goodrich hasn’t paid back the full amount he stole by then, though, prosecutors will request a 14-month prison sentence.
Initially facing 33 theft charges, Goodrich transferred money from company accounts to pay his debts. He also used band credit cards to pay for personal expenses, including family vacations and wine.
Goodrich was hired by Pearl Jam Touring Co. in 2005 as the band’s accountant and financial officer. He was hired on at Curtis Inc. the following year, and assumed control over all financial matters related to Pearl Jam’s tours.
Concerned about Goodrich’s management of various funds, the band’s manager conducted a review of “cash flow issues” at the touring company and Ten Club -- Pearl Jam's fan club, which Goodrich also had a hand in managing -- that had cropped up by late 2009.
Investigators hired by the band’s manager found Goodrich claimed to have paid thousands of dollars to band members and crew that were largely unaccounted for. Investigators ultimately identified several large, suspicious wire transfers from the management company initiated by Goodrich, which went to pay his personal debts.
Confronted by investigators, Goodrich initially claimed to have cleared the “loans” with his supervisor but later repaid $55,000 to the company. Reviews conducted by the band’s investigators are alleged to have shown Goodrich also charged $134,000 in purchases to the company credit card.
Goodrich is expected to return to King County Superior Court on Feb. 21 to be sentenced by Judge Laura Middaugh. He is not currently jailed.
Check the Seattle 911 crime blog for more Seattle crime news. Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news.
A former executive with Pearl Jam accused of bilking the band for years has pleaded guilty to felony theft charges.
Filing charges in June, King County prosecutors claimed Rickey Charles Goodrich used his position as chief financial officer at Pearl Jam’s management company, Curtis Management, to steal $380,000 in the four years before he was fired in September 2010.
Seattle Police claim Goodrich’s thefts cost the management company $566,000, including investigative expenses. Goodrich, a 55-year-old resident of Novato, Calif., is also alleged to have admitted to admitted to owing his former employer hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Goodrich pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree theft. Prosecutors will likely ask that Goodrich be sentenced to six months in jail when he is sentenced in February. If Goodrich hasn’t paid back the full amount he stole by then, though, prosecutors will request a 14-month prison sentence.
Initially facing 33 theft charges, Goodrich transferred money from company accounts to pay his debts. He also used band credit cards to pay for personal expenses, including family vacations and wine.
Goodrich was hired by Pearl Jam Touring Co. in 2005 as the band’s accountant and financial officer. He was hired on at Curtis Inc. the following year, and assumed control over all financial matters related to Pearl Jam’s tours.
Concerned about Goodrich’s management of various funds, the band’s manager conducted a review of “cash flow issues” at the touring company and Ten Club -- Pearl Jam's fan club, which Goodrich also had a hand in managing -- that had cropped up by late 2009.
Investigators hired by the band’s manager found Goodrich claimed to have paid thousands of dollars to band members and crew that were largely unaccounted for. Investigators ultimately identified several large, suspicious wire transfers from the management company initiated by Goodrich, which went to pay his personal debts.
Confronted by investigators, Goodrich initially claimed to have cleared the “loans” with his supervisor but later repaid $55,000 to the company. Reviews conducted by the band’s investigators are alleged to have shown Goodrich also charged $134,000 in purchases to the company credit card.
Goodrich is expected to return to King County Superior Court on Feb. 21 to be sentenced by Judge Laura Middaugh. He is not currently jailed.
Check the Seattle 911 crime blog for more Seattle crime news. Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news.
