Published: September 05, 2008 09:44 am         

Woman receives 15 years in company embezzlement case

By Lacie Morrison
lmorrison@mineralwellsindex.com

PALO PINTO – A Mineral Wells woman was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison and instructed to repay her former employer more than $300,000 as part of a negotiated plea agreement.

Sherry Jean Fitzgerald, 44, stood next to her court-appointed attorney, Chad Cannon, when District Judge Jerry Ray read the indictment charging her with first-degree felony theft.

“I am aware there have been plea agreements,” Ray said, noting that he was not bound to the plea agreements arranged between the defendant and the district attorney.

District Attorney Michael Burns said they recommended Fitzgerald receive 15 years confinement in a correctional facility, court costs and restitution to her former employer in the amount of $337,491.77.

The punishment range for the offense is life in prison or confinement not less than five years or more than 99 years and a fine not to exceed $10,000.

Ray approved the recommended punishment, adding that Fitzgerald would “be given credit on that sentence for time spent in jail which I show to be two days.”

Fitzgerald was arrested Aug. 22, 2007, by Palo Pinto County law enforcement for embezzling thousands of dollars from her then-employer, Accuracy Products Inc., where she was employed for 10 years and served as the office manager.

She posted a $200,000 surety bond at 1:15 p.m. the next day and was released from Palo Pinto County Jail.

According to jail records, Fitzgerald was arrested for theft greater than $100,000 and less than $200,000, though investigators said the defendant admitted that the actual amount was greater than $200,000. She was indicted for first-degree felony theft on Aug. 30, 2007.

Palo Pinto County investigators told the Index the investigation was spurred by an anonymous Wise Eyes alert to authorities who then contacted the business owners. The investigation lasted three to four weeks, authorities reported.