Cicero woman admits embezzling $455,000 to pay for student loans, trips, rent – By Vic Ryckaert (indystar.com) / Dec 15 2017
A Cicero woman will serve 320 hours of community service after admitting that she embezzled more than $455,000 from her employer to pay student loans and other expenses.
Heather Y. Kirby, 41, told investigators she spent her former employer’s money on student loans, rent on a home in Cicero, Ind., and a second home in Florida, medical bills and trips to Hawaii and Florida,
“We have seen through the multiple prosecutions of accountants, bookkeepers and other fund managers that the temptation to siphon off company funds cannot be underestimated,” Prosecutor Terry Curry said in a statement. “It is imperative that employers report employee theft to hold the offender accountable.”
Kirby, a senior accountant for Mobile Drill at 3807 Madison Ave., wrote 137 fraudulent checks to herself between July 2014 and January 2017, according to court documents.
Kirby hid the thefts, valued at $455,344.88, by falsely reporting in the company’s accounting software that the money went to legitimate expenses, prosecutors said.
Mobile Drill executives discovered the irregularities when they balanced the 2016 financial records. Company President Tim Sabo and Chief Financial Officer Matthew Cole confronted and fired Kirby in January, according to the documents.
Mobile Drill reported the thefts to police in February. Investigators spent the following months tracing the stolen money.
Kirby was arrested and charged with four felony counts of forgery on Tuesday, records show. On Thursday, she pleaded guilty and was sentenced.
Marion Superior Judge William J. Nelson ordered Kirby to serve eight years probation, 320 hours of community service and $96,000 restitution.
The restitution will be repaid at $1,000 a month for the eight years Kirby serves on probation, Nelson ordered.
Officials with Mobile Drill did not respond to IndyStar’s request for comment Friday.
PB/TK – What Common Core math example has $96,000 in restitution equal over $400,000 that was stolen?
