During an 11-year tenure at home lighting and doorbell manufacturer HeathCo, Kennith Moore worked his way up to a position as vice president of finance at the Bowling Green office.

Almost from the start of his employment there in 2009, however, prosecutors say Moore embezzled from the company, illegally enriching himself by more than $1.1 million until he was fired in 2020.

Moore’s crimes came to light soon afterward, leading to his being sentenced Wednesday by a judge to 46 months in prison for three counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering and four counts of tax evasion.

Moore, 56, received the sentence in U.S. District Court, bringing an end to a criminal case in which authorities discovered that he established a shell company to further his scheme.

The company, KBM Solutions, was held out initially by Moore as a human resources company in Michigan that did business with HeathCo, but was in fact a front that was described in court records as a “conduit for embezzled funds.”

Moore was indicted on the charges last year and pleaded guilty in January.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Greg Stivers imposed the 46-month sentence, which had been recommended by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky.

“But for the lie he lived in those 11 years, he was really a pillar of the community,” Stivers said while imposing the sentence. “The nature and circumstances of the crimes, though, really undercut all of that. I don’t understand how someone who has lived an apparently upstanding life could live such a lie.”

According to court records, Moore was fired from HeathCo after company officials learned he had falsified company financial information, which led to false financial reporting and HeathCo overdrawing its line of credit by about $7 million.

The embezzlement scheme was uncovered after his firing, with HeathCo losing $1,145,800 as a result.

The investigation also uncovered that Moore had not filed tax returns on his legitimate income from HeathCo, with the IRS finding more than $130,000 in unpaid taxes, court records show.

“We’re here because he was anything but honest and trustworthy and he was that way for a significant time period,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond McGee said at Wednesday’s sentencing. “He violated that trust basically from the time he started with this company.”

Prior to sentencing, prosecutors calculated that Moore owed $700,000 in restitution to the insurance company that reimbursed HeathCo for its losses, $445,800 to HeathCo and $342,155.84 in restitution to the U.S. Treasury for unpaid taxes, penalties and interest.

Altogether, Moore was ordered to pay more than $1.5 in restitution.

Moore did not address the court during his hearing Wednesday, but expressed remorse for his actions in a four-page letter that was filed Monday with the court as part of sentencing memorandum in which Caldwell requested a reduced sentence for his client.

“I sincerely regret my wrongdoings, and I apologize for issues that it has created,” Moore said in the letter. “I am committed to doing everything in my power to make amends.”

Moore’s attorney, Bryce Caldwell, argued Wednesday for Moore to be placed on probation to better enable him to pay any court-ordered restitution.

“He wants to get back to even with everybody as best as possible and the quickest way for him to do it, frankly, is to get him out of jail,” Caldwell said.