NEW CASTLE, Ind.—Betty Strickler, ex-manager of Perfect Circle Credit Union here, faces seven felony charges over her alleged embezzlement of more than $50,000.
Strickler is accused of stealing the money through a series of fraudulent loans between last Oct. 5 and Dec. 14, when she was fired from her job at the CU. Two of the bogus loans were for $22,950 and $21,950, respectively, according to court documents.
Strickler faces three counts of fraud on a financial institution and two counts each of counterfeiting and theft. She was released from the Henry County jail on Friday after posting bond. Her trial is set for May 31 in Henry Circuit Court 1.
According to authorities, credit union officials reported the alleged theft on Dec. 15.
Strickler is accused of forging the signature of the credit union’s loan officer on documents approving four bogus loans. The day of her dismissal, $2,750 was missing from her cash drawer, the reports said.
The three fraud charges are Level 5 felonies carrying up to six years in prison. The other four charges are Level 6 felonies with maximum 30-month sentences.