This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The former financial manager of Mapleton Irrigation District admitted Tuesday that she embezzled more than $100,000 from the organization.
Sandee Loader, 46, pleaded guilty to second-degree felony misuse of public money.
The crime is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. But at sentencing on Nov. 10, prosecutors will not ask for prison for the woman, according to plea agreement documents.
They instead have agreed to ask 4th District Judge Fred Howard to sentence Loader to home confinement, if she is able to pay $103,093 restitution before her sentencing date. Prosecutors will also ask for Loader's conviction to be reduced to a class A misdemeanor if she successfully completes 36 months probation, according to the plea agreement documents.
Charging documents allege that Loader embezzled the money between January 2006 and April 2015 by issuing checks to herself, to a company she owned and to her credit card companies for payments on her personal credit cards.
A state auditor's report, released in May, says that when questioned about the money, Loaded admitted that she had loaned herself more than $100,000. But there were no documents detailing the loan arrangements, a plan for repayment or an interest rate, and the arrangement was never approved by the district's governing board, according to the audit.
Lax oversight by the district board allowed the alleged theft to go undetected for years, auditors found. The scheme siphoned off 6 percent of the district's annual operating budget, took place over nine years and should have been detected, according to an audit.
The auditor recommended the district seek restitution and establish internal controls to prevent future misappropriation.