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Second man convicted in copier scheme 
CHEYENNE, Wyo.—The business manager for Goshen County schools was found guilty Wednesday of four counts of fraud related to a scam in which copy machines were paid for but never delivered.
Robert Childs bowed his head as the verdict was announced in a federal courtroom following a four- day trial. His family and supporters from Torrington appeared shocked.
Childs and co-defendant Joseph Cherry Jr. of Cheyenne await sentencing. Both were indicted on the same charges in March: three counts of wire fraud and one of mail fraud.
Cherry, who pleaded guilty in August, is expected to be sentenced Oct. 29, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Leschuck said. Childs' sentencing probably will be in December.
Business records helped convict Childs, Leschuck said. ''We had the testimony of witnesses, and the documents speak for themselves,'' she said.
Prosecutors said that Childs and Cherry's now- defunct photocopier business, Mirror Image Technologies, struck a deal five years ago in which Cherry secured financing for 17 photocopiers. He persuaded a Missouri finance company to purchase the copiers and lease them to the school district.
The copy machines did not exist, according to the government's case.
The paperwork indicated Cherry pocketed $400,000 when Childs told the company he had received the copiers. Cherry, meanwhile, paid off Childs to keep business in Goshen County, prosecutors said.
However, the plan unraveled when Cherry ran into financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy in 2001.
* Post was edited: 2004-10-13 10:53:00
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