Rick Eddleman, former vice president of finance for Decipher Inc., pled guilty to 12 counts of embezzlement in Virginia Circuit Court Monday. Eddleman, who had direct control over the game company’s finances and financial records for nine years, faces a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison (see “Decipher Troubles Continue”).

According to the Virginian-Pilot, Eddleman paid himself double his salary, “loaned” himself money from the company (which was never repaid), and wrote checks to his wife and children. Decipher President Cindy Thornburg said that Eddleman’s actions contributed to several rounds of layoffs with the company that resulted in 90 employees losing their jobs in 2005 (see “Decipher Downsizes”) and resulted in Decipher writing off $8.9 million in losses. In March 2008, a judge ordered Eddleman to pay that same amount to Decipher.

Decipher was once a huge player in the CCG business, with powerhouse properties including Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, MegaMan, and Beyblade.  Decipher has been quiet on the CCG front since ending The Lord of the Rings TCG in mid-2007 (see “One Set to End It All”) but has recently released a direct-to-consumer trading-card game, Fight Klub. The game draws from a number of licensed properties, such as Rambo and Evil Dead, and is marketed using a player-centric referral system.