Embezzlement From Decipher

With understandable curiosity, an enormous number of questions have been pouring into Decipher after the Rick Eddleman embezzlement conviction and sentencing hearing. As you can imagine, it's nearly impossible for us to answer each person individually. The crimes themselves were very complex (although each individual theft is quite simple). So, instead of trying to answer questions one at a time, I'm going to post a small number of PDF documents that contain an abundant amount of information.

Before I do that, let me say that Cindy Thornburg (Decipher's President) and I want to thank everyone for being so kind to us throughout this challenging time. The number of people who have sacrificed in support of Decipher have come from nearly every quarter... vendors, employees, lenders, customers, legal counsel, friends, our parents, and many more. We are very grateful.

Perhaps the best way to communicate details of the crimes and the more expansive coverup is for you to read a personal letter I wrote in June of 2007 to my extended family. There are literally thousands of documents such as checks, credit card statements, emails, contracts, etc. so it's far too overwhelming for me to post them all here (nor do I have a desire to do so since our focus is now to move beyond these proceedings). This family letter presents information in context so while it is long (32 pages), it's fairly easy to read. Together with that document, I've identified a few other documents which help define the events of the story. I think they will provide the details and background so many people seem to be craving.

The documents posted here (via the links on the left) are in dated order as follows:

• The family letter mentioned above, which I wrote to prepare them for the coming events so they did not learn of this for the first time in the newspaper. It provides extensive details of the decade of Eddleman's crimes and coverup.


• The Consent Judgment Order in the civil case executed in March 2008.


• A link to the local WTKR piece posted on YouTube reporting on the criminal trial prior to the sentencing hearing, which includes an interview with Eddleman.


• My victim impact statement filed with the court the 24th of July 2009. About 50% of this information is new (and not repeated anywhere else). The other half is culled from the family letter using updated information from additional discoveries between 2007 and 2009, primarily from review of documents such as the defendant's bank records, tax returns, etc. which were obtained through discovery in the civil trial.


• The front-page article from the local Virginian-Pilot newspaper (http://hamptonroads.com/pilotonline) which was published on the 28th of July 2009, the day after the sentence was issued by the judge in the criminal case.

Since Rick Eddleman had both criminal and civil liability, there were two cases involving this series of crimes: a civil case and a criminal case. Because the difference between the two is confusing to many people, I'll briefly explain:

Criminal law deals with crime and punishment of criminal offenses. Criminal actions are pursued by the State. The prosecutor, not the individuals involved, decides which cases go to court and which ones do not. In criminal law the objectives are deterrence and retribution: jail time and fines. Decipher had no control over the criminal case although the entire Commonwealth Attorney's office was very nice to us and both Cindy Thornburg and I testified as witnesses for the prosecution. The criminal case is the one for which Rick Eddleman was sentenced on Monday the 27th of July 2009.

In contrast, civil law deals with wrongful acts for which damages can attempt to compensate the injured party. Perhaps one of the most famous examples of this is when O.J. Simpson was ordered to pay damages for wrongful death. The objective of civil law is to attempt to right a wrong via a judgment. While such cases sometimes provide moral victories for victims, it is not uncommon to never collect any money. Getting a judgment and collecting it are two very different things.

Our civil case was settled for a portion of the damages incurred by Decipher on the 14th of March 2008 with Decipher obtaining a judgment for $8.9 million in damages. (That does not mean we will ever collect. Eddleman has no substantial assets. He has already defaulted on payments of just $1,000 a month and is, of course, not likely to make money while incarcerated. Besides, the interest alone on this judgment is about $500,000 a year.)

I also want to make a personal statement (which I'm going to pull from various emails I've had with dozens of different people over the past few days). Despite the embezzlement and the challenges we have faced, both Cindy and I recognize how fortunate we are. While this was a devastating event in our lives, in the grand scheme of the universe it hardly compares to the struggles of other individuals such as a parent losing a child, or the issues people face every day in Afghanistan or Africa while struggling with the very essence of life itself.

When one experiences an event or series of events we feel are terrible at the time, there are always good things that come out the other end and turn out to be important changes or enlightenments in the direction of one's life. While I am not religious at all, I tend to have Buddhist sensibilities. So, when I put this into perspective, I find the universe to be quite balanced. One of my favorite quotes that has come to mind in recent days is from Joseph Campbell:

"People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive."

I can't say that I am at a point of feeling rapture, but intellectually I think I should be. With the exception of this experience, my life is blessed. What I can say is that I almost never waver from feelings of great appreciation for the positive gifts I experience every day.

All the best,

Warren Holland
CEO
Decipher Inc.