by Elsa Maxey

An LJA Engineering CFO, who recently resigned from a firm engaged in area projects throughout Fort Bend County, is under indictment and free on bond after appearing in court in Houston last week, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

Forty-seven year old Christopher McCollough, formerly of Houston and an LJA chief financial officer, allegedly converted more than $3.5 million from LJA bank accounts for his personal use, said an indictment by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. A federal grand jury in Colorado, where McCollough was living, handed down a 7-count indictment on March 8, charging him with interstate transportation of stolen property related to alleged embezzlement. The offense is alleged to have been committed while McCollough was with LJA in Houston in 2005 and 2006.

McCollough is charged with withdrawing cash, writing checks drawn on the LJA accounts and purchasing cashier’s checks with LJA funds to pay for personal expenses that included personal taxes to the IRS. Also cited are alleged stock purchases, the purchase of real estate in Houston and Colorado and expenses related to the construction, landscaping and interior decorating of a home in Colorado.

The charges represent an accusation of criminal misconduct for which McCollough will be tried in federal district court in Houston. McCollough allegedly engaged in more than 200 transactions in which he converted his employer’s funds. If convicted, each of the counts in the indictment will carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

McCullough was arrested at his home in Colorado early this month by federal authorities after he resigned from LJA and according to the indictment, he allegedly removed boxes late one evening from the LJA office believed to contain financial records.

His next appearance will be in Houston before a U.S. Magistrate on March 22. He is out on a $50,000 bond and remains under indictment.

LJA Engineering & Surveying, Inc., where McCollough served as a CFO, provides infrastructure design services for master planned communities, flood control projects, urban and rural highways, bridges, roads and numerous other construction management and surveying projects.

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