American Electric Power (AEP), headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, has been named one of the most adoption-friendly workplaces by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. This is the fifth consecutive year the company has won the award.

AEP reimburses employees up to $3,000 per child for eligible adoption-related expenses and provides up to 40 hours of paid leave for new adoptive parents. Since early 2007, AEP has assisted its employees with more than 60 adoptions.

“We recognize the value of offering family-friendly programs to our employees and support them by helping defray the costs of adopting children,” said Curt Cooper, AEP’s director of employee benefits.

Information from nearly 500 employers nationwide was used to compile the foundation’s annual rankings of adoption-friendly workplaces. Rankings are based on the maximum amount of financial reimbursement and paid leave per adoption.

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a non-profit, public charity dedicated to dramatically increasing adoptions of the more than 150,000 children in North America’s foster care systems. The late Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s Restaurants and an adopted child, created the foundation in 1992. More information is available at www.davethomasfoundation.org.

American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. It ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. The company owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines all over the country.  The transmission system serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states as well as Eastern Canada. it also covers 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas.

AEP’s utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas).

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Michael Bukuts, 46, of Akron, was sentenced by Judge Patricia Cosgrove to 12 years in prison.

Bukuts pled guilty to Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activity, a felony of the first degree, two counts of Passing Bad Checks, Telecommunications Fraud, Grand Theft, Forgery, Tampering with Records, Identification Fraud, and Theft from Elderly, all felonies of the third degree, and Failing to Remit to the State Tax Collected, a felony of the fourth degree.

In May last year, a Hudson City resident found two unauthorized purchases on his credit card; one to an insurance agency and the other to a florist. Hudson police investigated and found that Bukuts made these purchases.

Bukuts had numerous reports of fraudulent use of credit card use associated with his mother’s Dry Cleaning company. 34 mostly elderly victims were found in Akron, Hudson, Bath, North Canton, and Fairlawn, each with losses of $300 or more. Bukuts had stolen their credit card information, obtained from the dry cleaning business and used that information to pay his own purchases.

Part of Bukuts’ job at the Dry Cleaning company was to remit state sales tax and pay for workers’ compensation. He had presented fraudulent checks to these agencies several times.

Bukuts and his mother were preparing to leave for Europe, in March, so the State executed search warrants for DC LeClair’s businesses in Akron and Brecksville and Michael Bukuts’ residence. Bukuts was arrested and taken into custody.

Bukuts previously spent three years in Federal Prison for embezzlement. In the previous case, it was alleged he embezzled up to $4.3 Million from his employers, setting up Swiss Bank Accounts to funnel the proceeds.

See Also this story: Prison time in fraud case

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