Former school secretary charged with theft in Montana

 Lakeside Elementary School secretary who resigned over alleged embezzling has been charged with felony theft in Flathead District Court.
Sandy Hawkes resigned at the June 5 meeting of the Somers/Lakeside School Board after it came to light that thousands of dollars were missing from the Somers Classified Employee Union account, of which Hawkes was the treasurer.

According to a court document, Hawkes confessed to a co-worker on May 25 that she had been embezzling money from the account.
The document alleges Hawkes later confessed to law enforcement “that she had embezzled approximately, she believed, $5,000 from the union account to help pay personal bills.”
An audit of the account indicated, however, that roughly $8,970 had been embezzled from the account by means of forged and otherwise unauthorized checks.
If convicted, Hawkes faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000 as well as restitution to the employee union. A book-and-release warrant has been issued for her arrest.
No hearings have yet been scheduled.

A woman accused of embezzling thousands of dollars from Lakeside Elementary School while employed as its secretary has pleaded not guilty to felony theft.
Sandy Hawkes, 36, resigned at the June 5 meeting of the Somers/Lakeside School Board after it came to light that thousands of dollars were missing from the Somers Classified Employee Union account, of which Hawkes was the treasurer.

Hawkes allegedly confessed to a coworker on May 25 that she had been embezzling from the account, later confessing to law enforcement that she had taken approximately $5,000.
A later audit of the account claims nearly $9,000 was embezzled from the account by means of forged and unauthorized checks.
She entered her not-guilty plea Thursday in Flathead District Court. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.
Her next hearing is set for Oct. 16.