May.14, 7:51 pm

A Chico man pleads guilty to federal charges involving the theft of nearly 700-thousand dollars from a North State retirement home operated by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic charity.

Thom Randle, age 66, pleaded guilty Friday to computer fraud and money laundering as part of a plea deal. Randle served as vice president of finance for Columbian Retirement Home (CRH) which operates a retirement home in Marysville.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento says Randle admitted in court that between September 2004 and September 2005, he opened bank accounts for the retirement home without authorization. According a press release from the office of U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner, on several occasions, Randle transferred funds from these accounts to other bank accounts he controlled. Randle admitted to using stolen funds to pay personal expenses.

He could face up to 15 years in prison, when he's sentenced July 30th. Randle faces up to 10 years in prison for the money laundering offense, and up to five years in prison for the computer fraud offense, with fines up to twice the value of the victims' losses.