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Manager At Credit Union Admits Embezzling $1.9M From Vault

NORTON SHORES, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - Court documents say a manager at a western Michigan credit union has admitted to embezzling $1.9 million from its cash vault between 2001 and this year.

Kathryn Sue Simmerman was charged Wednesday in federal court in Grand Rapids, where she agreed to plead guilty to embezzlement, a charge that carries up to 15-years in federal prison.

Simmerman's attorney, Gary Springstead, says she is expected to formally plead guilty next month. A plea agreement says Simmerman took cash from the vault at Shoreline Federal Credit Union in Norton Shores and hid it in her purse.

Simmerman allegedly hid her embezzlement from auditors and Shoreline's supervisory committee by manipulating financial statements to "make it appear that the missing cash was on deposit with Shoreline's correspondent bank," The Muskegon Chronicle reported.

Court documents say Simmerman was fired from her job in February.

In a statement, Springstead said Simmerman has cooperated fully with authorities in their investigation.

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