Samantha Berry, the former administrator of Savage Sunrise Manor, made her initial appearance in court on Jan 30 in Sidney. Berry is being charged with embezzling over $30K in August-November of 2022.
According to a Jan. 12 court document, Berry began working at the manor in August of 2022. The previous person handling the finances for the business retired in mid-September and then Berry took over. By Nov. 3, 2022, the account for Sunrise Manor at Stockman Bank had been flagged for suspicious activity and everything was frozen. A member of the manor board looked back through the transaction records. The first thing they noticed was several large ATM withdrawals that totaled just under $8K for October. Further investigation found there were direct deposits to an unknown account beginning mid-September. A total of $31,443.89 in ATM withdrawals, bank transfers, and direct deposits was taken from Savage Sunrise Manor’s bank account without permission. Another board member confronted Berry about it, but it was brought to the attention of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department on Nov. 3. Berry was fired and came to the Sheriff’s office for questioning.
According to Richland County Attorney, Charity McLarty, in a Jan. 13 court document on this case. “A person convicted of the offense of theft of property exceeding $10,000 in value by embezzlement shall be imprisoned in state prison for a term of not less than one year or more than 10 years and may be fined an amount not to exceed $50,000. The court may, at its discretion, place the person on probation with the requirement that restitution be made under terms set by the court. If the terms are not met, the required prison term may be ordered.” Berry’s first day in court was Monday, Jan. 30. She did not have representation and requested a public defender. Many hearings are set throughout the spring and summer in preparation for Berry’s trial. If the case is not dismissed beforehand, a jury trial for Berry’s case is set for 9 a.m. on July 20 and July 21. Berry’s legal representation was unavailable for comment.
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