Woman pleads guilty to embezzling from Bay City Hotel
Shawn M. Bair, a 37-year-old woman from Bay County, has recently pled guilty to embezzlement charges. According to the court documents, she is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the Bay Valley Resort and Conference Center in Frankenlust Township, where she worked.
Back in July of 2012, Bair started a job as an accounting clerk at the Bay Valley Resort and Conference Center. She kept that position for only a few months before moving to bookkeeping. But that was when the troubles allegedly began.
Rachel M. Kaiser, who is the resort’s general manager, says that she began noticing deficits in the accounting. However, she initially assumed that it was due to a lack of knowledge and proper training on Bair’s part, and didn’t immediately suspect criminal activity.
However, the Resort later hired Yeo & Yeo, a Detroit based CPA and business consulting company to go over their accounting books. And it was then that Kaiser discovered a check, bearing her own forged signature, had been made out to Bair from the Resort’s operating account fund.
Armed with sufficient evidence of suspicious behavior, Kaiser approached Bair and confronted her about the stolen money. Apparently Bair admitted to the thefts but, according to Kaiser, seemed unemotional and was far more concerned about her future wedding plans. Apparently she was due to get married in September of that year and was hoping that the thefts wouldn’t get in the way of her plans to host her reception at the Resort.
Initially, the Resort offered to work with Bair, claiming that if she would return half of the stolen money within 24 hours they would be willing to arrange something for the remainder. She was suspended from her job. But when she didn’t show up for a scheduled meeting a few days later, Kaiser reported the embezzlement to the Michigan State Police.
She told investigators that Bair had stolen over $43,642. Apparently the thefts had taken place between February and October of that year. The Resort terminated Bair’s employment.
Police got warrants to view Bair’s bank accounts and discovered many suspicious deposits over that period of time. In addition, Bair did admit to stealing money from the Resort, however the amount she admitted to was far lower that the amount the Resort claims was stolen.
Bair is scheduled to be sentenced by County Circuit Judge Joseph K. Sheeran at 8:30 on Monday morning, May 4th. She has pled guilty to a single count of embezzlement by an agent or trustee between $1,000 and $20,000, which under Michigan law is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.