Jason Kittle, the man charged with stealing almost $1 million from Volunteer Energy Cooperative, has pleaded guilty to theft greater than $250,000.

Kittle, who was an accountant at VEC, actually stole at least $994,981 between June 2011 and December 2017 from Volunteer Energy. The theft was discovered in late 2017 – early 2018 when VEC launched a new accounting system. Kittle was indicted on November 28, 2018. His trial was to begin yesterday morning in Kingston.

Senior Assistant District Attorney, Robert Edwards, tells the Morning Fax that Kittle decided to plead guilty just before the trial started. He will appear in front of Circuit Court Judge Michael Pemberton on January 11, 2023 for sentencing. It’s expected that he will receive a sentence of 15 to 25 years in prison with no probation allowed