A former fugitive was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison for embezzling more than $8.7 million from his former employer.James Hammes, 54, formerly of Lexington, Kentucky, was sentenced in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty last October to one count of wire fraud. Officials said he agreed to pay nearly $7.7 million in restitution, specifically approximately $6.7 million to G & J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers, Inc. and $1 million to Cincinnati Insurance Company.Related: Appalachian Trail was client's 'road to redemption,' lawyers sayAccording to court documents, from about 1998 through February 2009, Hammes embezzled more than $8.7 million from his employer, G & J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers, Inc., a large, privately held manufacturer and distributor of Pepsi products that is headquartered in Cincinnati.Hammes served as a controller for the company, and was responsible for all financial accounting and internal controls for his division, including supervising accounts payable to vendors for services provided to the company’s division.Hammes was questioned about the issuance of possible fraudulent checks in February 2009, at which time he fled and spent the majority of six years as a fugitive hiking the Appalachian Trail and living under an alias, which belonged to a real person.Federal criminal charges were filed against Hammes and he was arrested in Virginia in May 2015, following a tip from a hiker who had seen the defendant’s story on television.

A former fugitive was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison for embezzling more than $8.7 million from his former employer.



James Hammes, 54, formerly of Lexington, Kentucky, was sentenced in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty last October to one count of wire fraud. Officials said he agreed to pay nearly $7.7 million in restitution, specifically approximately $6.7 million to G & J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers, Inc. and $1 million to Cincinnati Insurance Company.



Related: Appalachian Trail was client's 'road to redemption,' lawyers say



According to court documents, from about 1998 through February 2009, Hammes embezzled more than $8.7 million from his employer, G & J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers, Inc., a large, privately held manufacturer and distributor of Pepsi products that is headquartered in Cincinnati.



Hammes served as a controller for the company, and was responsible for all financial accounting and internal controls for his division, including supervising accounts payable to vendors for services provided to the company’s division.



Hammes was questioned about the issuance of possible fraudulent checks in February 2009, at which time he fled and spent the majority of six years as a fugitive hiking the Appalachian Trail and living under an alias, which belonged to a real person.



Federal criminal charges were filed against Hammes and he was arrested in Virginia in May 2015, following a tip from a hiker who had seen the defendant’s story on television.