Attorney General Joseph A. Foster has announced that Jason Parent, a co-owner of The Statham/Exeter Meat House, LLC, entered a plea of guilty this morning in the Rockingham County Superior Court to one count of Misapplication of Property related to his failure to pay in excess of $13,000 to a veterans' charity called the Chaplain Emergency Relief Fund (CERF).

The State's investigation determined that The Meat House held a charitable fundraiser for the benefit of CERF in August, 2013. After expenses were paid, those fundraising efforts resulted in The Meat House acquiring $13,882.21in charitable donations. The Meat House placed those funds in a separate dedicated charitable account. On July 24, 2014, the defendant, although not a signatory to that account, withdrew $20,000 from the charitable account and placed those funds in company's operating account, from which company salaries were paid. The day before the withdrawal, the defendant cashed four payroll checks made out to him totaling approximately $9,000. The other co-owner, Justin Rosberg, cashed three of his payroll checks totaling over $5,000.

The crime of Misapplication of Property makes it a criminal offense for a person acting as a fiduciary to treat property entrusted to him in a manner in which he knows is a violation of his duty as fiduciary and which involves substantial risk of loss to those for whom the benefit of the property was entrusted. As co-owner of The Meat House, the defendant had a duty to direct all charitable funds that his company raised to that charity.

Mr. Parent was sentenced to serve 12 months at the Rockingham County House of Corrections, with 30 days of that sentence to be served and the balance suspended for one year on conditions of good behavior and compliance with the other terms of the sentence. Mr. Parent was ordered to pay $13,882.21 in restitution to the charity. Justin Rosberg was sentenced earlier in the year to one count of Misapplication of Property and must pay that restitution amount, along with Mr. Parent, until the full amount of restitution has been paid to the charity.

Jason Parent was also authorized by Stratham/Exeter Meat House, LLC to enter a guilty plea on its behalf to one count of Theft by Unauthorized Taking related to the failure of the company to pay CERF. The company was sentenced to pay a fine of $10,000, with all of that fine suspended for a period of two years.