Canfield man accused of stealing thousands from PA business

A man from Canfield has been accused of stealing more than $200,000 from a business in Pennsylvania.

According to a criminal complaint, Douglas Hagy, 60, is accused of stealing $231,464 in excess funds through false payroll records while working at Plyler's Inc. in Brookville, Pennsylvania.

The report accuses Hagy had been stealing from the company between 2020 and 2023, when he served as its chief financial officer.

The co-owners of the company Mark Plyler and Steven Plyler say they suspected Hagy was purposely over paying himself from the company for several years.

While the company was being valuated, a third company noticed a difference in payroll records for Hagy which showed he was paid a $52,824 bonus in 2020 and a $86,587 in 2021 and a $55,868 bonus in 2022.

Further investigation showed that Hagy was paying himself well over what his contract stipulated. For example, in 2023 Hagy paid himself $184,584 - his salary on paper was $124,000.

Investigators believe he got away with this because he was the sole person responsible for payroll at the company. Which meant he was able to enter in how much money he made without supervision.

A preliminary hearing for the case will be held on March 12 in Pennsylvania's Magisterial District Court, according to court records.

Editor's note: The location of the business is Brookville and has been updated in this story.