DECATUR, Ill. — As a judge here questioned how members wouldn’t notice money being removed from their accounts for months at a time, he also sentenced a former CU teller who pleaded guilty to theft to six months in prison and ordered her to pay full restitution.
Karen S. Buxton, a former CU teller at ADM Credit Union, pleaded guilty to removing $66,584.50 from member accounts. Macon County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Griffith also sentenced Buxton, 49, to 24 months' probation and stayed the start of the jail sentence until Oct. 3, according to the Herald Review.
Buxton pleaded guilty in August to two counts of looting the money from member accounts at ADM CU.
Her defense attorney, Chris Amero, had appealed for a sentence without jail time and said Buxton had even moved to a cheaper rental home to free up more money to make restitution, the Herald Review reported.
“I am truly sorry for what happened,” Buxton told the judge.
‘Old Enough to Know Better’
The crime was discovered in October 2017 and had gone on for months, according to authorities.
“Miss Buxton is 49, old enough to know better,” Griffith said. “The court considers this a very serious offense.”
Earlier, reported the Herald Review, the judge wondered out loud how the thefts could have gone on for months with two clients losing tens of thousands of dollars out of their accounts without noticing.
“I watch every nickel,” Griffith said.
Testimony was heard from ADM Credit Union President Ann Wildman, who asked for a jail sentence to reflect the seriousness of the offense, the publication said. Griffith agreed that jail time had to be part of the punishment because of the amount taken and the careful planning and time used to steal it.
Buxton had told the court she did have a job but said she would lose it if she were jailed. She had planned to make restitution at the rate of $150 a month. The full amount she owes is $66,584.50, which means that, if she can keep up the payments, it will take her 37 years to make complete restitution, the Herald Review reported.