BURLINGTON — A former longtime employee of a Windsor County car dealership pleaded not guilty Friday in federal court to a felony fraud charge for misuse of a company credit card that a prosecutor indicated may span back to 2008.
Tricia Covey, 50, of Thetford, denied she defrauded The Car Store Inc. of at least $1,000 in 2017, when it was doing business as White River Hyundai.
The indictment maintains that Covey improperly used its American Express credit card to obtain goods and merchandise on multiple dates before she left her job in February 2018.
While the indictment says Covey took more than $1,000 in 2017, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples said the felony charge was only “the tip of the iceberg.”
He indicated to U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Conroy it was “not a straightforward case” and there was “significantly more” to it. The fraud goes back to 2008, Waples said.
Covey began serving as the financial controller at The Car Store in September 1992, according to her LinkedIn profile. For years, the business was a Subaru dealership in Norwich, before owner Rick MacLeay sold it and bought the Hyundai dealership about three years ago. MacLeay recently closed the Sykes Mountain Avenue dealership.
Defense lawyer Christopher Dall, of Norwich, asked for 90 days to investigate the case and file any possible pre-trial motions. Covey has retained George Ostler from the same law firm, but he was unable to attend Friday, so Dall filled in.
Covey, who studied accounting and finance at Champlain College, declined to comment as she left U.S. District Court in Burlington.
The U.S. Secret Service, which handles elaborate and complex financial fraud cases, picked up the investigation following a referral from the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles.
Conroy, the federal magistrate, agreed to release Covey on conditions pending trial. She told the court she is now employed at Ansys, an engineering simulation software firm with an office in Lebanon. Conroy said the case will be assigned to Chief Federal Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford, who often presides in Rutland.
A federal grand jury meeting in Rutland indicted Covey on Dec. 18 on the felony charge. If convicted, Covey faces up to 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.
Mike Donoghue can be reached at vermontnewsfirst@gmail.com.