On to felony court for former Red Arrows Boosters treasurer charged with embezzling funds in Michigan

FROM MLIVE.COM -

The Lowell schools booster accused of embezzling nearly $100,000 from the athletic support club will see her case move to Kent County Circuit Court where she faces up to 20 years in prison.




Carrie Fisher, the former treasurer of the Lowell Area Schools Athletic Boosters, forged signatures on checks and created fake tax statements to commit and then cover up embezzling $98,588 from the club, according to police.



Fisher, 39, waived a probable cause hearing last week on felony accusations of embezzlement over $50,000, forgery and using a computer to commit a crime.



The case began when school officials uncovered financial irregularities in a March audit.

Court records indicate that Fisher began bilking the club three months after she was appointed treasurer of the group, which helps fund sports teams with revenue from concessions sales at events, in July 2008.



In an affidavit, Michigan State Police Sgt. Tom DeClercq said Fisher wrote checks to either herself or her tax preparation company, Curtis Accounting, and forged the name of booster President Doris Drain.



She recorded on the checks that the payments were for sales tax from booster operations, court documents show.



DeClercq claims Fisher, who sometimes uses the name “Curtis-Fisher,” confessed to both the forgery and the embezzlement.



As of July, the booster club, a registered tax-exempt non-profit, has not filed annual tax documents required by the Internal Revenue Service since the 2007 tax year. In that report of the group's finances, the club had reported a $76,490 fund balance at the end of 2007.



Fisher was listed as tax preparer for the club.



Fisher remains free on a personal recognizance bond.