Former Ickler Worker Sentenced in Theft Case

ST. CLOUD -- The former general manager at Ickler Company in St. Cloud has been sentenced after pleading guilty to spending thousands of dollars on the company credit card without permission.

Fifty-eight-year-old Mark Held of Sartell will have to spend 15 days in jail and repay $19,000 to his former employer. Held agreed to a plea agreement in May and pleaded guilty to one felony count of theft-by-swindle.

Court records show Held charged non-work related expenses between December 2008 and November 2015. Some of the credit card charges included plane tickets to Florida, restaurants, iTunes, a $1,100 Apple Watch and computer charges.

Records also show $9,258 in charges at the St. Cloud Country Club for dinners, bar charges, equipment, golf lessons and cart rentals.

After discovering the unauthorized charges, the owner confronted Held. Held said he had made some personal purchases and that it got out of hand, but he would pay it back.

According to court documents, further audits discovered the amount Held was accused of taking totaled $81,455.

Held told investigators he was taken by surprise when the owner confronted him about the Apple Watch and five plane tickets to Florida. He said he didn't think the company's owner would have a problem with him making those purchases.