Brothers accused of swindling Eagan business
by Jessica Harper
Thisweek Newspapers
Two brothers are scheduled to appear in court on felony charges after allegedly swindling hundreds of thousands of dollars from an Eagan business.
Samuel O. Edem, 57, of Apple Valley, and Ernest O. Edem, 50, of Brooklyn Park, have each been charged by the Dakota County Attorney’s Office with five counts of felony theft by swindle.
The criminal complaint states the following: Ernest Edem is owner of Ephicient Pick Up and delivery service, a one-man delivery operation, which had a contract with the Eagan company.
He submitted numerous bills totaling $254,529, which were approved by his brother, Samuel Edem, for work that was never completed.
Officials at the Eagan business contacted police upon discovering the discrepancies.
Police found emails Ernest allegedly sent to officials at the Eagan business in which he admitted to overbilling and apologized.
Samuel Edem denied knowing about the overbilling, but admitted he did not follow company procedures when receiving bills from his brother.
Although the investigation found legitimate bills from Ernest, it also uncovered fraudulent transactions processed by Samuel Edem since January 2007.
Samuel Edem is scheduled to appear at an omnibus hearing on March 26; Ernest Edem’s next court appearance is scheduled for March 13.
Jessica Harper is at jessica.harper@ecm-inc.com.
