A terminated employee has been charged with helping himself to his former employer’s Citizens First Bank account.
Bruce David Kirkley, 55, of Fruitland Park, had been earning $72,000 a year while working for Shady Oaks Resort in Leesburg, according to an arrest report from the Fruitland Park Police Department. However, he was terminated in May from his job repairing properties for the company, including properties in downtown Leesburg. During his employment, he had access to the company’s bank account.
Citizens First Bank recently notified Shady Oaks that a check had bounced due to insufficient funds.
Kirkley was interviewed by police on Friday and claimed he was still owed $17,000 by his former employer. He admitted to withdrawing $5,000 from Citizens First Bank at Fruitland Park. He said he had to pay a $4,000 Home Depot bill and used the other $1,000 to pay personal bills.
Kirkley added that he was “going to get his money back one way or the other.”
He was arrested on a charge of grand theft and booked at the Lake County Jail. He was released after posting $2,000 bond.
