Man stole $100K in property from old employer, prosecutors say
David M. Kramer
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. - A Campbellsport man is accused of stealing more than $100,000 worth of scrap metal from his former employer, according to prosecutors.
According to the criminal complaint, David Kramer, 56, has been charged with theft of moveable property from a Sheboygan business and selling scrap metal from the business to a scrap metal company in West Bend without permission and receiving cash personally.
The complaint said a few days after Kramer got terminated from Manning Lighting, he contacted the owner for a meeting. The two met at a coffee shop on Aug. 22. Kramer asked the owner to keep the discussion between them and stated that he had been taking scrap metal from the business for approximately one-and-a-half years. Kramer said all the money that he earned was placed in a box above the ceiling tiles in Kramer's former office. Kramer stated that the money was a "slush fund" for paying miscellaneous expenses for Manning Lighting, the complaint said.
Officials said the owner stated that Kramer told him the key to the money box was in Kramer's desk drawer. The owner said he later went to Kramer's former office and removed the ceiling tile, where he found the locked box with $6,880.
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According to the complaint, Kramer claimed that he had only been taking scrap metal for one-and-a-half years. However, the owner said an employee reached out to A&W Iron & Metal in West Bend and was informed that Manning Lighting did not have an account with them, but Kramer has had an account there since 2010 and has received approximately $100,000 from scrap metal since 2012.
The complaint stated the owner didn't give Kramer permission to take the scrap and sell it for money and gave emails and paperwork of Kramer and A&W Iron & Metal interactions. Kramer was also photographed in a company van taking scrap metal to West Bend.
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An officer made contact with A&W Iron & Metal on the phone. A witness revealed that Manning Lighting did not have an account, but she had known Kramer for several years, as he had been bringing in scrap metal. According to the complaint, the witness remembers asking Kramer where he was getting the scrap metal, and he said his own small machine shop.
According to the records provided by A&W Iron and Metal, Kramer received the following each year in scrap metal returns:
- In 2021, $11,246.31
- In 2020, $6,778.80
- In 2019, $8,757.49
- In 2018, $11,022.26
- In 2017, $12,403.54
- In 2016, $12,586.67
- In 2015, $10,652.57
- In 2014, $8,306.92
- In 2013, $9,469.68
- In 2012, $11,975.72
On Nov. 10, Kramer surrendered at the Sheboygan Police Department. He invoked his right to an attorney and declined to be interviewed.
Kramer made his initial appearance in Sheboygan County court on Monday, Dec. 12. A signature bond of $2,5000 was assigned to Kramer. He is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 28.