NORTON SHORES, Mich.–As CUToday.info reported here and here earlier, Kathryn Sue Simmerman, a former manager at Shoreline FCU, pleaded guilty to embezzling nearly $2 million over a 13-year period. Now, with sentencing set for this week, federal prosecutors are sharing some details about how she did it and what her life was like over that period.
The former manager said that on more than 433 occasions she entered the vault—in this case the “vault” was a lockable filing cabinet drawer—before co-workers arrived at work and she stuffed her purse with bundles of cash, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Federal prosecutors are now seeking at least a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for Simmerman, 55 and the mother of two grown sons, for the $1.9 million that she ultimately stole. The embezzlement caused the one-branch credit union to nearly be declared insolvent when net worth hit 2%.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Stiffler in a written statement as part of the sentencing memorandum filed in Grand Rapids federal court, in 2014 Simmerman stole $319,000. She had already taken $23,000 by February of 2015 before auditors discovered the embezzlement and it was reported to police. Simmerman was fired one week later.
The Detroit Free Press reported that Simmerman's attorney said the stealing began when her husband was laid off from work. Simmerman, who joined the credit union in 1986, initially "intended to put the money back,'' defense attorney Gary Springstead wrote in a sentencing memorandum asking for leniency, the Free Press reported.
"Unfortunately, Ms. Simmerman's day of reckoning came 17 years too late, after she had already stolen $1.9 million from the credit union,'' Springstead was quoted by the Free Press as writing. "She feels shame. She feels guilt. She knows she betrayed her friends/co-workers at the credit union, her husband and family and her friends with deceit.''
Authorities said Simmerman would give employees at least $500 each week, typically $50 and $100 bills, and ask them to deposit the money into accounts belonging to her family, as employees were prohibited from making deposits into their own accounts. Simmerman was earning approximately $40,000 annually at her job, but made more than $875,000 in unexplained cash deposits to Shoreline accounts belonging to herself and her family.
Simmerman pleaded guilty to the embezzlement charge in August, 2015, which is punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Authorities said that in exchange for the plea, they agreed not to file charges against her husband and sons. Sentencing guidelines for Simmerman recommend a term of between 6.5 and eight years.
Authorities said the amount of money stolen represents 86% of the earnings Shoreline FCU had retained over its 62 years of existence. It continues to function and currently has 3,000 members and $17 million in assets.