Ex-Missouri business owner pleads guilty in fraud scheme

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- An ex-southwest Missouri business owner has pleaded guilty to allowing his customers' information to be stolen as part of a bank-fraud scheme.

James Erin Guerin, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty Thursday to being an accessory after the fact to aggravated identity theft. The scheme occurred while Guerin owned Rogersville Septic Services in Sparta, Missouri.

Prosecutors say co-defendant Phillip Daren Shockey of Crawford, Arkansas, created fictitious documents using bank accounts and routing numbers of Guerin's customers. The information was used to cash nearly $160,000 in fraudulent checks in Webster County and elsewhere.

Guerin originally was not aware of Shockey's scheme, but after discovering it, he continued to let Shockey live with him and maintain the scheme.

At least 12 people were involved. Guerin is the last to plead guilty.