Nassau DA: Nesconset man ordered to pay back stolen money from Great Neck business

A Nesconset man has been ordered to pay back nearly $280,000 that he stole from a Great Neck business over the course of four years, the Nassau district attorney's office said in a news release Tuesday.

Thomas Holt, 66, pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree grand larceny, a C felony, before Nassau County Court Judge Anthony Paradiso, who ordered a civil judgment of $279,794.15 in favor of Holt's former employer. Holt was ordered held without bail, according to a news release from Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice's office.

According to the release, Holt worked for the last 20 years at an interior design and supply firm in Great Neck, where he took orders and payments from walk-in customers. But starting in 2008, Holt told dozens of customers he could give them a discount if they paid him directly with a check made out to cash, Rice's office said.

Holt would then deliver the merchandise to the customers, but deposited the checks into his own personal account rather than forwarding them to his employer. Rice's office said the scheme went on for four years, and that Holt was fired in October 2012.

The missing money was discovered during a review of the company's financial records. After they spoke to customers who said they had paid Holt directly for merchandise, they referred the issue to Rice's office in March 2013, the release said. Holt was arrested in March.

Holt is due back in court Jan. 23. His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday night.