Frazeysburg accountant sentenced for financial crime

A Frazeysburg accountant was sentenced to time in prison and ordered to pay restitution for stealing from a Zanesville business over the last few years. 

Jeffrey T. Keith, 46, of Frazeysburg, appeared in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court. Presiding Judge Kelly Cottrill sentenced Keith to at least three years for his crimes of fraud and theft.

Keith, the accountant for a local Zanesville business for about 10 years, began using the business’s bank account to pay for his personal gain over a three-year period. 

It is alleged that between January 2020 and June 2023, Keith spent $193,192.48 of the business’s money for his personal use, including credit card payments, dinners, groceries, cell phone bills and other expenditures.

Muskingum County Prosecuting Attorney Ron Welch says crimes like those committed by Keith can lead to significant harm to the community.  

“Theft from small local businesses is devastating,” Prosecutor Welch said. “Large national businesses can make up losses based upon the large number of customers and sales they enjoy, but smaller businesses do not have the same ability. Thefts like this can cause small businesses to fail and people to lose their livelihoods. The victims of these crimes deserve justice, the same as anyone else.”

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