West Plains bookkeeper admits to stealing from employer

The former bookkeeper of a West Plains electrical company pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to embezzling more than $742,000 from her former employer.

Mary Elizabeth Hurtt was bookkeeper for White Electrical Services Inc. from 1999 to June 2007, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. The company, which closed in January 2008, installed commercial security systems.

Between January 2000 and May 2007, Hurtt embezzled $742,645 from company bank accounts by fraudulently endorsing and receiving payment on checks drawn on those accounts, according to the release. She forged signatures of people authorized to use the account and made withdrawals to purchase money orders for her own use.

The release said that several of the checks she embezzled were paid using funds intended to make quarterly payments to the Internal Revenue Service, meaning the company underpaid its taxes by more than $300,000.

Because she did not report the money to her accountant, according to the release, she also failed to report the income on her own income taxes. This led to underpayment of her own income taxes of more than $180,000.