Employee steals $200,000, forcing Ohio brewery to close

PLAIN CITY, Ohio — An Ohio brewery has closed after a former employee pleaded guilty to stealing $200,000 from the company.

1487 Brewery in Plain City permanently closed on February 4th, according to its Facebook page and website.

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“The 1487 Team has truly enjoyed serving you and being a part of our community since 2020 in Plain City and since 2016 in Central Ohio,” the post said. “While it is a sad time, we are choosing to celebrate as it has been a great journey!”

Investigators found that from 2021 through October 2022, Lyles Bigelow, who was the brewery’s chief operating officer, had taken over $200,000 from the business by directing payroll payments into accounts opened under fake names that he controlled, as well as making unearned payments to himself, WBNS reported. He also used the company credit cards to make more than $14,000 in personal purchases from Amazon.

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The owner of the brewery told the court that Bigelow’s theft nearly destroyed the business, according to WBNS.

Bigelow pleaded guilty to aggravated theft on Oct. 25, 2023. He was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison on Dec. 13 and was ordered to pay $107,014.92 in restitution.

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