TOLEDO, Ohio—Nicole Harris, a former teller at Toledo Police FCU, has been convicted of stealing more than $10,000 from her cash drawer and was ordered to pay full restitution to the CU or face a year in prison.
Lucas County Common Pleas Judge James Bates placed Harris, 32, on community control for five years, ordered her to perform 80 hours of community service, undergo random drug testing, and pay $10,321 to the credit union, the Toledo Blade reported.
“This is like an interest-free loan,” Bates told Harris, according to the Blade. “You embezzled the money from the credit union. If they had loaned you the money, they might get 6% or 8%, but this is an interest-free loan. And if you don’t return the payments, they won’t just foreclose on your house or your car — you’ll go to an institution.”
Harris pleaded no contest June 23 to grand theft for taking money from her cash drawer at the credit union’s 4280 Heatherdowns Blvd. branch between Oct. 1 and Jan. 5.
Bates said, “Stealing from the police credit union is probably the last person I would think of stealing from. You don’t have any record so what prompted you to embezzle this money from the credit union?” the Blade reported.
The Blade said Bates responded that she had personal problems at home, including her husband’s drug problem. “I was paying for day care and the rent and all the bills by myself, and I got overwhelmed. I am very sorry for what I did,” Harris said.