The former bookkeeper for a local sporting goods company who embezzled over $40,000 from the business pleaded no contest to a felony theft charge Monday in Garland County Circuit Court.
Alissa Dawn Scott, 40, who lists a Candleberry Circle address, appeared with her attorney, Tyler Tapp, and pleaded no contest to theft of property over $25,000, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and was sentenced to 12 years' probation, fined $500 and ordered to pay $540 in court costs.
Scott, who had no prior criminal history, was arrested on Dec. 28, 2018, and released later that same day on $10,000 bond. She had pleaded not guilty to the charge on March 4 and the case was continued multiple times before being set for a disposition hearing on Monday.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Dec. 11, 2018, the owner of Locker Room Athletics, 1711 Airport Road, came to the Garland County Sheriff's Department with his attorney to report he had discovered an employee of his had been taking money from the business without his consent.
The employee, identified as Scott, was employed as a bookkeeper for the company from April 2017 to Dec. 11, 2018, when she was terminated. The owner said there appeared to be over $40,000 missing from the business account and there were about 53 separate transactions not authorized by him.
There were entries in the checking account ledger showing the checks were paid to various vendors, but the actual canceled checks had been made out to Scott. The signature on the checks was not written by the owner, even though the name on the checks was his, the affidavit states.
When Scott was confronted about the thefts she reportedly admitted she had stolen from the business but she "didn't believe or realize she had taken that much." The owner provided sheriff's Investigator Terry Threadgill with documents showing the entries of checks on the ledger indicating the vendors were being paid, but the same check numbers of the actual checks were made out to Scott or to someone with a direct connection to Scott.
Scott declined to be interviewed by Threadgill citing advice from her attorney as the reason "even though I never told her what the purpose was for asking her to come to the GCSO," Threadgill said. A warrant for her arrest was issued on Dec. 18.
Local on 09/25/2019