A Williamsburg woman accused of embezzling more than $40,000 from a pair of local companies was sentenced to 15 years in prison at a hearing Monday.
Police arrested 44-year-old Shelby Deal in July and charged her with felony credit card fraud and felony embezzlement. The credit card fraud charge is related to Deal using a company credit card from MDR Specialty Distribution Corporation to rack up charges of more than $40,000 between May 2012 and January. Deal was employed as an office manager at that company.
The embezzlement charge stems from Deal signing four checks to herself between May and June when she was an employee of Peninsula Mediation & ADR. Those checks were worth a combined $1,725.
Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court Judge Michael McGinty gave Deal the 15-year sentence, suspending 14 years and seven months. Deal must also pay thousands of dollars of restitution to the two companies.
“You were in a position of trust and taking money that didn’t belong to you,” McGinty said after giving Deal her sentence. He said these types of charges are more commonly found against people with drug problems or issues with gambling, but in this case, it was not clear what took place. Deal was also convicted 20 years ago on an embezzlement charge.
Deal’s attorney, Patrick Kelley, said she had “bent over backward” to accept responsibility for her actions. Kelley said Deal is “a very suitable candidate for supervised probation” and that her current incarceration — she has been in custody since her arrest — already exceeded the sentencing guidelines for her crime.
Prior to receiving the sentence, Deal said she was “very sorry” for what she had done.
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Woman Accused of Embezzling More than $40K from Williamsburg Companies