McCANDLESS TWP, Allegheny County — Charges against a Gibsonia man accused of stealing more than $205,000 from an IT company for which he served as CEO were held for higher court Wednesday.

Eric V. Cunningham, 47, faces three counts of theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and forgery in a case involving a string of questionable checks, ATM withdrawals and credit card expenses discovered following his termination from Information Technology Procurement Sourcing (ITPS) LLC in July 2018.

The charges were held for higher court during a hearing Wednesday before District Judge William Wagner. Cunningham's formal arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 16 in Pittsburgh, according to court documents.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed July 11, Cunningham and three other people formed ITPS in January 2017.

Cunningham, who served as CEO, allegedly misled those individuals about potential sales, and the company was “not able to meet its operating expenses.” To help offset the losses, two of the partners provided additional investment capital sooner than they had anticipated.

The company's CFO resigned, and his replacement found the financial situation to be in “disarray,” the affidavit. Payroll documents investigated for the complaint showed Cunningham allegedly issued himself bonus payments, commissions and expense reimbursements through the company payroll system totaling more than $138,000.

Additional investigation found Cunningham allegedly created entities for youth sports as well as a traveling AAU basketball team associated with ITPS.

These ventures allegedly were paid for using company funds, according to the affidavit, and totaled $42,005.52. Other owners told investigators they never indicated Cunningham could use ITPS funds for basketball teams.

Further investigation revealed Cunningham allegedly used a company credit card for various personal purchases. The alleged purchases included flights and stays at luxury hotels and golf resorts, meals, membership to a local country club and visits to gentlemen's clubs. In total, those items accounted for $32,106.84, according to court documents.

Cunningham is free on $20,000 unsecured bond.