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South Weber City officials said Thursday that no immediate action will be taken against a city councilman accused of embezzling more than $200,000 from a Bountiful business.
William Michael Poff, 40, was charged Thursday in 2nd District Court with three second-degree felony counts of communications fraud.
"According to the charges against Councilmember Poff, they are not related to his service on the city council," a news release from the city reads. "The city will continue to monitor the situation and act if and when appropriate."
City officials said the charges were filed without warning, and without the involvement of the city.
The alleged thefts occurred while Poff was manager of a Bountiful assisted living facility, Welcome Home Assisted Living, from 2008 to 2010, according to charging documents.
While employed at the business, Poff allegedly took out several credit cards in his own name, then charged several thousand dollars to the cards, according to charging documents. He then used proceeds from the business to pay off the credit card debt, prosecutors claim.
Poff also took out several credit cards in the name of the business, with himself as signator, charges state. He then allegedly made charges on the cards that were for his own personal use.
He also took several thousand dollars from the business and deposited the money into his own personal bank accounts for his own personal use, charges state.
Bruce Morrison, the assisted living center's owner, said Thursday that Poff hasn't worked for the company since October 2010.
"We've been working on this case with detectives for about 18 months," Morrison said. "... It all happened right before he left. But we became more aware [of the missing money] as time went by. We had an accountant come in, do all the books, and there was a lot of mishandling of money."
Poff is elected to serve as a city council member until 2016, according to the city's website. The Standard-Examiner reports that Poff is currently serving his third term, having been a council member since 2004.
Poff is scheduled for an initial court appearance on April 30. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison on each charge.
According to the city's website, Poff oversees commercial/economic development, Eagle Scout projects/youth service projects, Youth City Council and the Central Weber Sewer Improvement District Board.
Twitter: @jm_miller