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Former Garkane Energy employee told to pay back what he stole from public utility

Chynoweth used company credit cards for personal use and falsified documents as well as a college degree.

Scott T. Smith | Courtesy Garkane Energy lineman Courney Cropper installs new dark sky friendly LED streetlight in Torrey, Utah. USA.

  | Feb. 9, 2022, 1:00 p.m.

Klinton Ralph Chynoweth told the 3rd District Court at the Garfield County Courthouse that he was not in his right mind when he falsified documents and used company credit cards for personal use as an employee of Garkane Energy, LLC. The public utility company serves approximately 14,000 people in southern Utah and northern Arizona with power and propane.

Judge Marvin Bagley convicted Chynoweth for theft on Jan. 20 and ordered him to repay approximately $69,500 in restitution to Garkane. In total, Chynoweth stole company assets worth over $153,000.

Chynoweth said he has turned to his faith to overcome his past offenses. He told the court he had repaid most of the damages to Garkane — about $100,00 to $130,000 — he said.

“Why did you steal it?” Bagley asked.

“I guess the only, or the best way I can describe what I did was because I just, I got caught up in my work and in everything I had going on and everything just kind of built up,” Chynoweth said. “I wasn’t quite sure how to stop it or how I wasn’t sure how to go about not doing what I was doing.”

Chynoweth also falsified a college degree from the University of Kansas to stay employed with Garkane Energy, LLC.

The restitution sentence for Chyonweth was a continuation of a hearing that took place in October to allow more time to hear from Garkane and if any more evidence needed to be gathered against Chynoweth.

Representatives from Garkane told Judge Bagely that they were not opposed to any jail time but wanted justice depending on what the court decided was best for the case. Chynoweth did not serve any jail time.

In a six-page testimony to the court, Garkane Energy Board President William Hammon told about how the utility learned of Chynoweth’s actions through a series of historical evidence the company gathered.

“Ultimately, external and internal investigations uncovered a series of activities by Mr. Chynoweth including tricking vendors, credit card fraud, and procurement of a falsified college degree to obtain a raise, leading to four felony charges,” Hammon said.