Embezzlement

The second of two former agents for an Eastern Panhandle bonding company was arraigned on charges of embezzlement and conspiracy Friday, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Shelly L. Garrison, 40, of Martinsburg was released on a $15,000 personal recognizance bond, the court records said. Garrison and 38-year-old Mathew Francis, also of Martinsburg, are accused of writing more than $1.2 million in unauthorized bonds, the records said. The pair are accused of stealing from A. Regional Bonding Co. and its owner, John Orem, between last October and March of this year, the records said.

A man accused of stealing $250,000 from a land development company that he and a sheriff's deputy owned was indicted Thursday on embezzlement and fraud charges by a Berkeley County grand jury. George H. Van Wagner, 59, of P.O. Box 867 in Martinsburg, was indicted on one count of felony embezzlement and four counts of fraudulent schemes, according to an indictment released by Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely's office. Van Wagner, while acting as an agent of Topaz LLC, is accused of stealing the money from the company, a venture that he and Sheriff's Deputy Steven A. Crites formed in 2006, according to the indictment and the West Virginia Secretary of State's office.

Caregiver's embezzlement sentence suspended Washington County Circuit Judge John McDowell on Thursday imposed a suspended jail sentence on a caregiver convicted of embezzling $2,200 from a mental health client last year after hearing the money had been repaid. Leslie Fae Lewis, 27, of 115 Broadway, pleaded guilty to theft and was given a six-month suspended sentence. She was also fined $150. Assistant Washington County State's Attorney Arthur Rozes said Lewis was assigned a mental health client from The Turning Point of Washington County.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A Berkeley Springs, W.Va., woman was sentenced to two months in prison Thursday after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court to embezzling money from a bank to please her boyfriend. U.S. District Judge Craig Broadwater also sentenced Chantel Durene, 21, of 801 Johnson Mill Road, to four months on electronic monitoring after her release from prison. Durene was charged with embezzling $38,000 to $42,0000 while working at the Valley Road branch of Citizens National Bank in Berkeley Springs.

The case against former Funkstown Moose Lodge Administrator David Brandenburg, charged with embezzling more than $36,000 from the club in 2002, was continued Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court. After a joint motion was entered for a continuance for the purposes of "further investigation" by Deputy State's Attorney Steven Kessell and Brandenburg's attorney, Lewis Metzner, Circuit Judge W. Kennedy Boone III found that good cause was shown to grant the delay. March 30 was set as Brandenburg's new date for trial.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- A 71-year-old Hagerstown woman accused of taking more than $30,000 from the Berkeley County chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor count of embezzlement on Monday in circuit court. Josephine Wright of 12433 Gateway Ave. was placed on probation for five years and ordered to pay court costs and $35,374.78 in restitution as part of a plea agreement that was accepted by 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Christopher C. Wilkes.

A West Virginia man charged with stealing about $14,000 from his Williamsport, Md., employer pleaded guilty Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court to a misdemeanor embezzlement charge and received a suspended prison sentence. Matthew C. Donegan, 38, of 252 Talisman Drive in Martinsburg, was given a three-year suspended sentence and was placed on probation for two years, with the first six months supervised, by Circuit Judge W. Kennedy Boone III. "It's to your credit you fessed up and made restitution.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - A Shenandoah Junction, W.Va., woman was charged Wednesday with the theft of two gift cards and cash totaling $1,070 from Kohl's department store in Ranson, police said. Amber Lynn Wooley, 19, 126 5th St., was charged with embezzlement, according to Jefferson County Magistrate Court records. On July 2, Sgt. Todd Lutman Sr. of the Ranson Police Department said he met with Mike Jones, loss prevention associate at Kohl's, about an investigation of stolen money and gift cards from the store.

An 18-year-old woman is accused of embezzling more than $1,000 in cash and merchandise from the Bon-Ton store at Martinsburg Mall, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Samantha Bowie, of 107 Autumn Leaf Drive in Martinsburg, was arraigned Friday on one felony count of embezzlement by Magistrate Betty Jo Hersh, according to court documents. Martinsburg Police Patrol officer C.M. Richmond said in a complaint that Bowie provided a written statement admitting she took $600 in cash and $435.12 in merchandise, according to court documents.

A Martinsburg man is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from his disabled brother in the last five years, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Kenneth Leroy Bivens, 55, of 6 Midnoon Drive, was arraigned Thursday by Magistrate JoAnn Overington on one felony count of embezzlement, according to court documents. West Virginia State Police Cpl. J.M. Walker said he identified $126,044 in funds that were missing and/or converted by Bivens for his personal use, according to a criminal complaint filed against Bivens.

A Berkeley County man is accused of bartering prescription medication for secretarial services, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. George H. Van Wagner, 59, of 56 Majestic Court, Martinsburg, was arraigned Tuesday by Magistrate Joan V. Bragg on one felony count of delivery of a controlled substance, according to court documents. Van Wagner was being held in Eastern Regional Jail Wednesday night on a $100,000 bond, according to court and jail records. He is accused of providing three valium tablets to a confidential informant Tuesday in exchange for yet to be provided secretarial services, according to a complaint filed in magistrate court by West Virginia State Police Cpl. J.M. Walker.

The Corner Pub, a downtown gathering place for more than a quarter of a century is scheduled for a foreclosure auction in October, although co-owner Darryl Sword said an infusion of private funding could forestall a sale. Sword said a series of problems - having money embezzled, the bad economy and the closing of nearby Washington County Hospital - led to “a tight situation” for the business that opened on South Mulberry Street 26 years ago. The possibility of a sale, however, appears to have been averted, Sword said Thursday.

The second of two former agents for an Eastern Panhandle bonding company was arraigned on charges of embezzlement and conspiracy Friday, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Shelly L. Garrison, 40, of Martinsburg was released on a $15,000 personal recognizance bond, the court records said. Garrison and 38-year-old Mathew Francis, also of Martinsburg, are accused of writing more than $1.2 million in unauthorized bonds, the records said. The pair are accused of stealing from A. Regional Bonding Co. and its owner, John Orem, between last October and March of this year, the records said.

Two former agents for a criminal bonding business are accused of writing more than $1.2 million in unauthorized bonds while conspiring to embezzle from their employer, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Mathew Francis and Shelly L. Garrison, both of Martinsburg, are charged with single counts of embezzlement and conspiracy, the court records said. Francis, 38, was arraigned Thursday by Magistrate Sandra L. Miller, who set a $15,000 personal recognizance bond for the defendant, the records said.

A man accused of stealing $250,000 from a land development company that he and a sheriff's deputy owned was indicted Thursday on embezzlement and fraud charges by a Berkeley County grand jury. George H. Van Wagner, 59, of P.O. Box 867 in Martinsburg, was indicted on one count of felony embezzlement and four counts of fraudulent schemes, according to an indictment released by Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely's office. Van Wagner, while acting as an agent of Topaz LLC, is accused of stealing the money from the company, a venture that he and Sheriff's Deputy Steven A. Crites formed in 2006, according to the indictment and the West Virginia Secretary of State's office.

Over the decades, the bingo games at the Volunteer Fire Company of Halfway, Md., had become a rich source of revenue for the emergency service. But from summer 2008 through summer 2009, things went wrong in the company's gaming operation, costing it up to $500,000 in profit, The Herald-Mail has determined. Federal records show the company lost $520,000 on its bingo operation when it paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars more in prizes than players paid to play. In essence, the records suggest that for every $1.36 that bingo players paid, the company was giving $1.72 in cash prizes.

A former American Red Cross worker convicted of embezzling more than $30,000 from the agency’s Eastern Panhandle chapter was placed on probation for five years Monday with the condition that he pay back the money. Samuel K. Bunner, 38, was sentenced by 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Gray Silver III, who agreed to suspend what could have been a sentence of as many as 10 years in prison to allow the Martinsburg man to make monthly payments totaling $30,233.71 to the disaster relief agency.