A former Pearl Jam accountant has been sentenced Friday to 14 months in prison after pleading guilty to felony theft charges for stealing money from the Seattle band.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports Rickey Charles Goodrich used his position as chief financial officer at Pearl Jam’s management company, Curtis Management, to steal $380,000 in the four years before he was fired in September 2010.
Seattle Police determined Goodrich’s thefts cost the management company $566,000, including investigative expenses. Goodrich, a 55-year-old resident of Novato, California, admitted to owing his former employer hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Goodrich pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree theft. King County prosecutors were prepared to ask that Goodrich be sentenced to six months in jail, if he paid back the band prior to Friday’s hearing; he failed to do so.
Initially facing 33 theft charges, Goodrich transferred money from company accounts to pay his debts; he also used band credit cards to pay for personal expenses, including family vacations and wine.
Goodrich was hired by Pearl Jam Touring Co. in 2005 as the band’s accountant and financial officer. He was hired on at Curtis Inc. the following year, and assumed control over all financial matters related to Pearl Jam’s tours.
Pearl Jam recently completed an Australian tour in support of their latest album, “Lightning Bolt.” The band kick off a European tour June 16 in Amsterdam.
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