Former Ballard business owners sentenced for embezzlement

The former owners of Lunde Electric in Ballard now face the penalty for two felony charges of Embezzlement or Conversion from an Employee Pension Benefit Plan, and one felony charge of Falsification of Records of an Employee Pension Benefit Plan.

Sigmund G. Eriksen and Raymond A. Eriksen were sentenced on Friday to two years of probation, a $20,000 fine each and they must perform 240 hours of community service.

The Eriksens were convicted in October 2009. A jury acquitted the two of nine counts and couldn’t reach a verdict on the other charges. At the sentencing on Friday, “U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said that any businessman who talks with the Eriksens will realize that they would be a fool to engage in similar conduct and run the risk of a felony prosecution and conviction,” the press release from the Department of Justice states. Here are details from the release:

Read More