Area woman convicted of theft

CELINA - A Coldwater woman could face up to 36 years in prison, a $120,000 fine and restitution after pleading no contest Thursday to 20 charges involving the theft of more than $600,000 from her employer.

The charges against Linda A. Garke, 53, a former employee of De Ruijter International USA Inc. of Coldwater, involve the unauthorized use of company funds to pay nearly $500,000 in personal credit card bills, misuse of a corporate credit card to make purchases of roughly $100,000 and the forging of checks to purchase a Jeep and other items, among the charges.

Sentencing is Jan. 22. She was released upon her own recognizance.

The 20-count indictment includes multiple charges of theft, forgery and tampering with records.

On Thursday, she appeared in Mercer County Common Pleas Court before visiting judge James Brogan. As part of an agreement, she pleaded no contest to a bill of information to theft, a third-degree felony; tampering with records, a third-degree felony; two counts of forgery, third-degree felonies; six counts of theft, fourth-degree felonies; five counts of tampering with records, fourth-degree felonies; and five counts of forgery, fourth-degree felonies.

In addition to the prison time and fine, Garke at sentencing faces an order for restitution of $623,672 - an amount agreed upon in the plea deal. She is required to pay $420,000 of the restitution within seven days of her plea, according to the deal with the prosecution.

According to court records, Garke was employed by De Ruijter International, 120 Harvest Drive, as an executive officer from Dec. 29, 2005, to July 31, 2014. The rubber reprocessing company headquarters its American operations in Coldwater.

Garke is accused of engaging in a pattern of theft involving $647,767. According to company vice president Will van der Ceelen, financial irregularities were discovered after Garke resigned in 2014.

According to court records, on multiple occasions Garke forged checks by entering false vendors' names into the accounting software used by the company. When printing company checks for her personal use, she reportedly covered the false vendor information and typed the entity she intended to pay. After she received digital bank statements containing images of the forged check, Garke would alter the statements so they appeared to represent the data originally used in the accounting software, records show.

Garke also was charged with using a corporate American Express card for unauthorized personal use totaling $26,325 in one charge and $74,203 in another. She is accused of using corporate funds to pay her personal American Express bills totaling $409,377 in one charge and $80,967 in another.

Garke also allegedly used company funds to pay for cleaning services at her residence and family members' residences totalling $11,128. She is also accused of forging a check for $26,765 toward the purchase of a Jeep from Bud's Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep.

Additionally, she is accused of having an employee deposit $19,000 directly into her personal banking account and later falsifying accounting records to alter details of the transaction.

A civil case against Garke was filed by De Ruijter in September 2014 but was dismissed without prejudice in June, records show. The case could be refiled.

"It's all in the hands of the visiting judge now," van der Ceelen told the paper. "We're very happy with the outcome of where we are right now and we are looking forward to the sentencing in January."

Correction:

Garke was not convicted, as the headline stated; she pleaded no contest to the charges and a sentencing hearing has been set.

The error was made in editing.