The Williamsburg-James City County Courthouse
A 35-year-old Maryland woman convicted in June of embezzling more than $2,500 from a Sprint store in James City County was sentenced to five years in prison Wednesday after the judge learned she may have lied to the court about her father dying.
Karen Lynn Zengler was found guilty in June of embezzling the money when she was the sales manager of the store, located on Monticello Avenue. During her trial, she testified she left town after the money was discovered to be missing because she was distraught due to her father’s rapidly declining health, saying he died before she could reach him in Maryland.
Williamsburg-James City County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Cathy Black expressed skepticism toward that claim when she told the court Wednesday she had discovered Zengler’s father was alive.
“We’re not in junior high,” Black said. “This isn’t ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ and you can just say a family member has died.”
Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court Judge Michael McGinty said he wanted to leave the door open to lowering Zengler’s felony conviction to a misdemeanor — Zengler had no criminal record prior to her June conviction — however he decided not to do so after Black brought Zengler’s father’s status to light.
The judge reminded Zengler a court reporter took down every word she said during her June trial. He said he had a “specific recollection” of Zengler telling him her father had died, prompting her to leave the area on the same day representatives from the company that owns the store were coming to James City County to figure out what happened.
McGinty said the state should investigate the possibility of filing charges against Zengler for telling the court her father had died when that was apparently not the case.
“To say your father passed away when he did not is almost incomprehensible to this court,” McGinty said.
Had McGinty reduced the embezzlement conviction to a misdemeanor, Zengler would have faced up to a year in jail. Instead, she received 5 years with 4 years, 11 months and 15 days suspended. She must also pay $2,588.78 in restitution.
During her June trial, employees from the store and the company that owns it, Adcomm Digitel, testified against Zengler. A member of Adcomm Digitel’s finance department said sales managers were responsible for submitting a daily verification of cash deposits. She said she did not receive verifications from Zengler for Aug. 1 and 2, 2013, totaling $2,588.78.
That person testified she tried multiple times to get Zengler to send the verifications without success.
Another member of Adcomm Digitel testified she phoned Zengler Aug. 12, 2013, to ask her to send the verifications. When that member of the company called the store later that day, she found out Zengler had clocked out and left, she said.
Zengler testified in June her father was in a car accident around the time the verifications came up missing and she received news on Aug. 12, 2013, his health had taken a turn for the worse, causing her to drop everything and go to Maryland. She said her father was dead by the time she reached Maryland and she was too overcome with grief to return to her York County apartment to collect her belongings.
During the June trial, both representatives of Adcomm Digitel said Zengler had told them she did make the deposits.
“I was just trying to get them off my back to focus on my dad,” Zengler said during her testimony in June. “That’s why I said I made the deposits.”
During Wednesday’s hearing, she testified she was working as a receptionist at a biosciences firm in Maryland and “things are really good for the first time in a long time.”
Zengler’s attorney, Joshua Goff, had requested McGinty reduce the conviction to a misdemeanor prior to Black’s statements about the status of Zengler’s father. Zengler said Wednesday she could pay $200 and was hoping to stay out of jail.
Goff said he could not argue with Black’s assertions and that “something went terribly wrong” for Zengler.
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