LEXINGTON, Ky. – Joyce Minton, 65, Aaron Brooke Warren, 43, and James Minton, 70, all of Nicholasville, Ky., have been sentenced, respectively, to 97 months, 46 months, and 18 months in federal prison, for defrauding a Nicholasville business. They were also ordered to forfeit the proceeds of their crimes and to pay restitution to their victims.

Senior United States District Judge Joseph M. Hood formally sentenced the Mintons and Aaron Brooke Warren yesterday. They must serve 85 percent of their prison sentence.

In June, according to evidence presented at their trial, James Minton, Joyce Minton, and Aaron Brooke Warren conspired to defraud their longtime employer, Clark Machine Tool and Die, of Nicholasville. The criminal conspiracy took place from February 2000 through May 2016 and stole over $1,500,000. The conspirators defrauded the business by using company checks and credit cards to purchase personal items, by cashing and keeping company petty cash checks, by issuing themselves extra paychecks, and by inflating their paychecks. They also kept money that customers had paid the company for work, converting those funds to their personal use. Joyce Minton was the office manager and bookkeeper for the company; Aaron Brooke Warren was the company’s shop supervisor; and James Minton was a contractor.

The jury convicted Joyce Minton of 46 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering; Aaron Brooke Warren was convicted of 34 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, and money laundering; and James Minton was convicted of seven counts of conspiracy and mail fraud.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Amy Hess, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Chris White, Assistant Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service; and Richard W. Sanders, Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, jointly announced the sentences. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neeraj Gupta and Ken Taylor prosecuted the case on behalf of the federal government.