Schindler sentenced to 90 days for EDC theft

EPHRATA — A Moses Lake woman was sentenced to 90 days in jail for stealing money from the Grant County Economic Development Council.

Melissa B. Schindler, 27, pleaded guilty to nine counts of forgery and one count of identity theft in Grant County Superior Court.

Grant County Superior Court Judge Evan Sperline sentenced her to 90 days in jail.

Deputy Prosecutor Steve Scott said the length of the sentence is because Schindler is a first-time offender.

Between 2005 and 2008, Schindler stole $206,444 from the EDC, according to court records. While she was in charge of the council’s two bank accounts, she wrote checks to herself ranging from $850 to $6,000.

She also used an EDC credit card to purchase $1,694 worth of merchandise from Staples, according to a Moses Lake police report.

An accountant noticed some missing entries when he was doing the council’s 2007 taxes in January 2008.

Schindler was placed on leave Jan. 14. A few days later she contacted Terry Brewer, the EDC’s Executive director, stating she had the missing records, according to the police report.

She brought the files to a meeting with Brewer and the EDC’s attorney Chris Ries on Jan. 22 and described how she transferred money from the council’s money market account to the checking account and forged Brewer’s signature on the checks.

At the meeting, she apologized and asked for her job back, according to witnesses. She told Brewer and Ries no one else was involved.

In October, Schindler and her husband, Joshua E. Schindler, 33, entered a summary judgment agreeing to pay the EDC $203,115, according to court records. The money includes $18,201 in interest.

Sperline ordered restitution of about $205,000. Scott said the money paid as part of the civil case should be applied to restitution.