A former Clovis man was sentenced to one year in prison for stealing more than $800,000 from a bank through a payroll fraud scheme, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

Kenneth Gould, 69, was sentenced after pleading guilty to initiating fraudulent electronic payments from a client’s account to his own payroll services company, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith.

Prosecutors said that between October 2017 and March 2018, Gould exploited a bank processing system by directing large payments from the client’s account to his business account. While the transactions were still pending, the bank credited the funds to Gould’s account, which he quickly withdrew in cashier’s checks.

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The scheme unraveled when the bank discovered the client’s account lacked sufficient funds and tried to reverse the payments. By then, approximately $830,000 had already been withdrawn and could not be recovered.

Court records show Gould gave the money to the client involved in the transfers in hopes of being repaid for a personal loan. The client later lost the money gambling.

The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Barton.

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