14th Circuit Solicitor's Office​

Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties​

Former car dealership employee sentenced in $2 million theft

RIDGELAND, SC (Sept. 15, 2016) – A former O.C. Welch employee who stole nearly $2 million dollars from the Ford dealership in Hardeeville, S.C., has been sentenced to serve eight years in prison.

DeAnne Ogden, 54, of Jesup, Ga., pleaded guilty Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016 to breach of trust over $10,000. As part of her restitution, Ogden has already turned over assets worth approximately $856,759; including: her home in Jesup, a vacant lot next to her home, furniture, a Ford Raptor pickup, a Lincoln Navigator, a four-wheeler, two golf carts, her 401K account and jewelry.

Ogden worked for O.C. Welch Ford Lincoln, Inc., for more than 10 years. As the assistant comptroller, Ogden was responsible for preparing checks to different vendors who sold parts to O.C. Welch for their parts and repair departments.

“The defendant went to great lengths to hide her theft from various accounts,” said Assistant Solicitor Francine Norz, the head of the White Collar Crime Division of the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

The theft of approximately $1,943,819 occurred from June 2008 to October 2015. She was fired from O.C. Welch in November 2015.

Circuit Court Judge Brooks Goldsmith handed down Ogden’s sentence.

After Ogden’s prison term, she must also serve five years of probation and repay the remaining restitution of $572,085.

The State Law Enforcement Division and Senior Special Agent David Williams conducted the investigation.