Former News Employee Pleads Guilty to $60,000 Theft
Posted
Craig Brosman-
A former Time-Union circulation manager pleaded guilty to two counts of theft, a Class D felony, this morning in Kosciusko County Superior Court III.
Rebecca Ann Walton, 36, Warsaw, pleaded guilty for embezzling close to $60,000 from the paper over a six-year period. Within the plea deal Walton agreed to pay restitution in full.
The State of Indiana agreed to a three-year cap on sentence. Counts will be served consecutively. Judge Joe Sutton ordered Walton to go to the probation department and participate in a pre-sentence investigation report.
Kosciusko County Deputy Prosecutor Katy Hampton said that Walton took money from a Times-Union carrier and never deposited the money into the business account. Hampton also said that Walton recieved cash from other Times-Union employees and never put the money into bank accounts for the paper.
Walton was hired in April 2001 and fired in May 2011. An internal audit was performed shortly after her dismissal to look into possible embezzlement of funds. During the course of the audit the Times-Union found five spreadsheets of pocketed deposits over six years. The Warsaw Police Department was called after the mass discrepancies were found.
Walton was ordered to be back in court July 23 at 10:30 a.m. for her sentencing.
