LEXINGTON, Ky. - Following an eight-day trial, a federal jury sitting in Lexington has convicted
James Minton, 70, Joyce Minton, 65, and Aaron Brooke Warren, 43, all of Nicholasville, Ky., of
numerous counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering.
According to the evidence presented, James Minton, Joyce Minton, and Aaron Brooke Warren conspired
to defraud their employer, Clark Machine Tool and Die, of Nicholasville. The criminal conspiracy
took place from February 2000 through May 2016 and resulted in a loss in excess of $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.
On Monday, 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 7 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; and Richard W. Sanders, Commissioner of
the Kentucky State Police, jointly announced the verdict.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Kentucky State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neeraj
Gupta and Ken Taylor prosecuted the case on behalf of the federal government.
The Defendants are currently scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 25, 2017, in Lexington. They
face a maximum sentence of 30 years for the convictions, as well as potential restitution and
forfeiture. Any sentence, however, will be imposed by the Court, after it has considered the U.S.
Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statutes governing the imposition of sentences.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
