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Last updated on Thursday, February 15, 2018
(BLOOMFIELD) - The Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC filed its counterclaim against former Chief Executive Officer Brian Sparks, who sued the Cooperative in December alleging Breach of Contract and other damages.
The counterclaim was announced in a press release from UDWI REMC Wednesday morning.
The counterclaim against former CEO Brian Sparks, cites "malicious" and "fraudulent" behavior and accuses him of theft from the nonprofit electric company during his tenure.
The company contends that Sparks used a corporate credit card to make "tens of thousands" of dollars in purchases for sporting events or other personal activities with no supporting receipts or documents.
It also claims Sparks made well over $1 million in donations for personal reasons and wrote checks to cash that totaled more than $60,000 and referenced them in REMC's accounting records as payments made to the Hoosier Heritage Management, which REMC claims, does not accept cash payments.
Sparks originally filed a suit in Greene County against the Bloomfield-based company two months ago for $568,260 in back wages. According to court documents, Sparks' employment contract allows him to collect: 3 years' salary; 36 months of health insurance; and the financial equivalent of his unused 1,000 hours of vacation and 1,000 hours sick pay if he's terminated prior to the contract's completion. His contract was cut short when he was fired June 30, 2017.
UDWI REMC says Sparks' termination was because of dishonest behavior during his employment for 11 years, and refers to the section within Sparks' contract that states it would not have to pay if, as CEO, Sparks engaged in an "act or omission of dishonesty, fraud, misrepresentation, conflict of interest, breach of fiduciary duty, or any act of misfeasance, malfeasance or moral turpitude."
"The counterclaim states that Sparks abused his position as CEO and put his and his family's interests above those of the Cooperative and its members," a news release from UDWI REMC said. "The filing offers examples of Cooperative funds being used for sports tickets for personal use, sponsorships not affiliated with any UDWI business interest, unapproved and excessive charitable donations, and political contributions that were not actually given to political candidates or causes."
UDWI REMC's counterclaim is asking for an award in damages connected to the internal investigation in relation to his actions, money that Sparks collected for personal use and attorney's fees.
UDWI REMC serves 19,000 customers in Greene, Monroe, Owen, Lawrence, Martin, Knox, Clay, Daviess, Putnam, Sullivan and Vigo counties through a 1,500-mile transmission network, according to the cooperative's website.
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