Former County Clerk Charged with Embezzlement for Theft from Law Firm

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On Wednesday, a woman from Wausau was charged in Marathon County Circuit Court on seven counts of forgery and one count of embezzlement. The woman, 58-year-old Susan Adams, has been accused of stealing over $5,000 from a law firm. She was using the money to repay $120,000 that she owes from an embezzlement conviction in federal court from 1994. Each one of the forgery charges comes with a six-year prison sentence.

Adams was released from jail on a $25,000 bond at the behest of Judge Greg Grau, who said that Adams is not allowed to work a job that forces her to deal with money. The restriction set forth by Grau caused Adams to lose her job as the clerk for the Marathon County Clerk of Courts. The county’s employee resources director, Frank Matel, said that Adams handled checks and cash working as a clerk. She was hired on April 2 and was making $13.54 per hour.

  

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“She was apologetic for letting us down,” Matel said. Matel also made it known that Adams has not been accused of taking money from Marathon County.

The law firm Adams has been accused of stealing from is that of Hess, Dexter, Reinertson and Brunner. The firm is located in Wausau and she left her position there back in March. Adams wrote seven checks payable to herself totaling $3,870. She forged the signatures on the checks and cashed them. Adams informed authorities that she overpaid company credit cards and kept the extra money for herself. She has admitted to bilking over $5,000 from the law firm.

Management at the law firm said that they knew of Adams’ federal conviction when they hired her. The county also said they knew of her conviction when she was hired as a clerk.

“We don’t discriminate on arrests or conviction records unless it affects the nexus of the job duties,” Matel said.