Branson condo manager pleads guilty to embezzlement

The former community manager for Fall Creek Condominium in Branson pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to embezzling more than $300,000 from her employer.

Sarah Underwood, 35, of Galena, waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering and failing to file a tax return, according to a news release from the office of Tammy Dickinson, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

Underwood was employed by the Branson company from Jan. 15, 2007, until she was fired Sept. 7, 2012, upon her employer's discovery of the theft. Among other duties, Underwood was responsible for the bookkeeping and financial affairs of Fall Creek, which operates 639 condominiums owned by individuals its owners' association. She also was an authorized signatory on the company's checking accounts.

According to her plea agreement, Underwood conducted several unauthorized electronic bank transfers and wrote $311,280 in unauthorized checks from the bank accounts of the Fall Creek Condominium Owner's Association. She then deposited the funds into her own bank accounts to cover personal expenses and purchases. The release pointed to examples where Underwood spent $76,287 to purchase a Shelby Mustang and $25,505 to buy a condo at Fall Creek. She also erroneously received two paychecks every two weeks from the company.

Underwood also used a cashier's check written on Fall Creek's bank account to spend $56,169 on a 2012 Ford truck, which was registered to Mstrmind Enterprises, a company owned by her and her boyfriend, which performed construction and rehabilitation work at Fall Creek. The embezzlement scheme included an $80,000 check written to Mstrmind for work she claimed was performed by the company but for which she could not justify.

She also failed to submit federal tax returns for 2010, 2011 and 2012 to the Internal Revenue Service, the release said.

Under federal statutes, Underwood could recive a sentence of 31 years in federal prison without parole, as well as a fine of up to $525,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled following the presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney and was investigated by the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation.