Lebanon, Oregon woman indicted on embezzlement charges

A Linn County grand jury has indicted Molly Louise Marteney of Lebanon on multiple embezzlement charges that are alleged to have occurred while she worked at the First Assembly of God in Lebanon.Marteney’s indictment lists 10 charges but does not indicate how much money was allegedly stolen, saying only that it exceeds $10,000.The indictment refers to a “theft of an equity line of credit secured by deed of trust” from property belonging to the church, at Seventh Avenue and West Oak Street.Interim Pastor Ted Boatsman said this morning, “One’s never prepared for something like this, and sometimes it comes from the person you would least expect.”He said Marteney has had a number of jobs at the church over the last 15 years, including treasurer and bookkeeper. She also is a church member.Boatsman said the church is cooperating with the investigation and has opened all of its records to authorities.The offenses are alleged to have occurred during seven time periods starting on April 24, 2006, and concluding on March 3, 2009.he charges are: three counts of first-degree aggravated theft; three counts of misapplication of entrusted funds; three counts of falsifying business records; and one count of first-degree forgery.The theft and forgery charges are felonies, and the remaining ones are misdemeanors.Marteney, 60, was indicted on July 22, and a warrant was issued for her arrest. She was booked at the Linn County Jail last Thursday afternoon and was released after posting a security amount of $5,000.She is scheduled to be arraigned at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 18, in Linn County Circuit Court. The Department of Justice did the investigation involving a possible mortgage fraud,” said District Attorney Jason Carlile. “The DOJ will be the special prosecutors in the case.” Marteney has hired Forrest Reid of Albany to represent her.He said Monday, “I’ve met with her for quite some time now, but I was just retained this morning. We were discussing the situation prior to today because she didn’t know if she would be charged or not.”