Former T-U Employee Pleads Not Guilty to $60k Embezzlement
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Aaron [email protected]
Rebecca Ann Walton, 35, of 1826 Michaels St., Warsaw, pleaded not guilty this morning to the two counts of Class D felony theft Kosciusko County prosecutors charged her with following an investigation by law enforcement. Warsaw police discovered she reportedly did not deposit at least $58,000 into Times-Union accounts as circulation manager, allegedly instead pocketing the monies from 2005 through May.
Walton turned herself in to authorities at Kosciusko County Jail just after 3 p.m. Thursday. She is being held on a $60,000 cash-only bond.
According to Warsaw police, Walton, as circulation manager, would not deposit cash paid by venders who deliver bulk newspapers for the Times-Union. Those venders are given papers, and after delivering them they collect the money and deliver the returns and pay the paper for them. In the scheme Walton is alleged to have committed, she would keep those cash receipts, police said.
The majority of Times-Union vendors pay the paper with personal checks. Detectives allege Walton targeted those delivery drivers who paid in cash.
As circulation manager, Walton had sole access to and responsibility for the paper’s books. Warsaw police said no others appear to be involved in the embezzlement.
Walton, who was hired in April 2001, was fired in May. An internal audit was performed shortly after her dismissal, which included five spreadsheet pages of pocketed deposits over six years. Warsaw police were called after the mass of discrepancies were discovered.
Warsaw police said Walton issued an apology to the Times-Union management.
A Class D felony is punishable by up to three years, according to Indiana Code.[[In-content Ad]]
Rebecca Ann Walton, 35, of 1826 Michaels St., Warsaw, pleaded not guilty this morning to the two counts of Class D felony theft Kosciusko County prosecutors charged her with following an investigation by law enforcement. Warsaw police discovered she reportedly did not deposit at least $58,000 into Times-Union accounts as circulation manager, allegedly instead pocketing the monies from 2005 through May.
Walton turned herself in to authorities at Kosciusko County Jail just after 3 p.m. Thursday. She is being held on a $60,000 cash-only bond.
According to Warsaw police, Walton, as circulation manager, would not deposit cash paid by venders who deliver bulk newspapers for the Times-Union. Those venders are given papers, and after delivering them they collect the money and deliver the returns and pay the paper for them. In the scheme Walton is alleged to have committed, she would keep those cash receipts, police said.
The majority of Times-Union vendors pay the paper with personal checks. Detectives allege Walton targeted those delivery drivers who paid in cash.
As circulation manager, Walton had sole access to and responsibility for the paper’s books. Warsaw police said no others appear to be involved in the embezzlement.
Walton, who was hired in April 2001, was fired in May. An internal audit was performed shortly after her dismissal, which included five spreadsheet pages of pocketed deposits over six years. Warsaw police were called after the mass of discrepancies were discovered.
Warsaw police said Walton issued an apology to the Times-Union management.
A Class D felony is punishable by up to three years, according to Indiana Code.[[In-content Ad]]
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