Alva Review-Courier -

A warrant has been issued for an Alva woman charged with embezzlement. Vicky Kay Hewatt, 72, of Alva, was charged Feb. 6 with embezzlement, a felony. She is accused of fraudulently appropriating the sum of $28,144.92 that belonged to Lynn and Marione Martin between 2008 and 2018.

This crime is punishable by imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for up to eight years and a fine not to exceed $10,000 and restitution.

Court records show on Dec. 14, 2018, at approximately 10 a.m. Alva Police Officer Sean Farris was dispatched to the Woods County Courthouse to speak with Darrel Dye, son-in-law of the victims, Lynn and Marione Martin. Dye told Farris that Hewatt was believed to have been embezzling money from the photography business for the last several years.

Lynn Martin, the owner of the photography business, had become severely ill with cancer, and his family was looking into his business and personal affairs to make arrangements and plans as Lynn was to a point he was incapable of handling all these things himself.

Dye and the Martins discovered in their records that purchases were regularly being made at Wal-Mart with petit cash from the photography business. Some of these purchases were legitimate expense for the business but several items on the receipts were not. Items such as food, medical gloves and adult diapers were commonly purchased alongside items that were needed for the business. Dye and the Martins reviewed the business records and found this was a regular occurrence from 2008 into 2018 when Lynn became ill and had to stop his photography business.

Dye and the Martins’ current estimate of embezzled funds is $28,144.92 over the ten year period of the suspected embezzlement occurring.

Farris interviewed Lynn Martin and was informed there was no agreement between himself and Hewatt that she would be allowed to spend the petit cash in this fashion and that Hewatt had intentionally tried to hide the charges on the receipts by folding them so they could not be read or opened and by stapling them to the daily expenses paperwork for the business that only tracked totals of purchases, not the items purchased. Lynn also said that no attempt to ask permission or to repay for any of the purchases was made by Hewatt.

Farris interviewed Marione Martin who likewise said that there was no reason that the photography business would need these items in question. She also said there was no agreement or understanding with any employee of the photography business that the petit cash could be used for personal purchases.

Officer Farris also interviewed Jane Ritter, a former employee of the photography business, who also had access to and made purchases with the petit cash for the business. Ritter also corroborated that the questioned items purchased by Hewatt were not items needed or used by the photography business and that there was never an agreement or arrangement with any employee of the business that the petit cash could be used for personal purchases.