Overview
- Federal prosecutors charged Patrick Van Cott with theft from a program receiving federal funds and two counts of wire fraud, and he has admitted the charges in a plea agreement with no court date set yet.
- Prosecutors say he took school food and kitchen gear paid for by Plymouth Public Schools and USDA school-meal funds to stock and run his seasonal Snack Shack on Sandy Neck Beach.
- The case details list two refrigerators, a two-door freezer, hot plates, a griddle, a chargrill, a deep fryer, shelving, a sandwich prep table, a convection oven, and hanging chalk boards, along with about $3,000 in premium burger patties.
- Filings describe an anonymous tip and school surveillance video that captured him loading a stainless steel refrigerator at a school dock and driving toward Cape Cod.
- A separate state larceny case is still pending in Plymouth District Court, and the federal counts carry maximum sentences of up to 10 years for theft and up to 20 years for fraud plus possible fines and supervised release.