Accountant facing 10-year sentence

SNOW HILL -- Accountant William W. Scott was found guilty on three counts of theft, convicted of stealing more than $800,000 from three Ocean City condominium associations.

Judge Richard Bloxom said the state's evidence -- which included a recorded confession Scott voluntarily gave to the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation -- and the testimony of multiple witnesses proved to him there was no reasonable doubt Scott had taken money that did not belong to him and he was not authorized to take.

Two of Scott's crimes carry a sentence of 20 years, with 10 years suspended and five subsequent years of probation, while the third carries a sentence of 15 years with five years suspended and five years of probation. The sentences will be served concurrently, meaning Scott is likely to be incarcerated for 10 years total. Restitution will be included in the sentence, at an amount to be determined at a later time.

During sentencing, Scott, 37, of Bishopville tearfully apologized to his victims and family, and told the court he had secured two job offers within the state where, if he avoided prison time, he could begin working toward paying back the association members from whom he'd stolen the money.

"I want to make things right," he said.

Scott told the court he thought initially that his exit strategy from his financial problems would be to take his own life, but that he ultimately decided against it, saying he couldn't abandon his six-year-old son.

His wife, Elizabeth, tearfully urged Bloxom to give Scott a short enough prison sentence to allow him to contribute more positively to society and his family. "He is a good person," she said. Chasity Simpson, Scott's public defender, asked for leniency based on Scott's voluntary confession.

Scott acknowledged that since his crimes had become public knowledge, some of his family members have distanced themselves from him. There has also been disdain and public confrontation from former clients and others. Scott admitted he had been trusted by many of the people he stole from.

Bloxom told Scott he felt the court's sentence had to reflect society's "condemnation" of Scott and its "repugnance" at the crimes he committed. Bloxom shared an anecdote from his days as a Worcester County public defender, when a client of his had been convicted of theft and felt he'd received too stiff a sentence.

"He said, 'You know, it seems to me like the more money you steal, the less time you serve,'" Bloxom said.

The judge said there is a perception that sentences are "disproportionately lenient" in cases like Scott's, where the perpetrator has never before been in trouble with the law and has been trusted with other peoples' finances.

Bloxom went on to say the court had no reason to doubt the sincerity of his aforementioned apologies, but his thefts were "staggering in their amount," and the manner in which they were executed were "surprising and shocking" in their deviousness.

Scott was acquitted of one theft charge wherein he was accused of stealing money from an individual who had mailed him a check paying for a portion of her condo fees. Bloxom ruled that Scott had been stealing from her condo association, and not her, since Scott was authorized by the association to collect dues.

The amount of restitution Scott owes will be determined once it is decided what the associations are to do with money Scott occasionally transferred between the entities' accounts.