Law firm office manager stole $176000, Pinellas deputies say
Criminal Law
A 34-year-old Clearwater woman is accused of stealing at least $175,000 from her employer over several years and spending it on vacations, trips to the hair salon, personal bills and student loan payments.
Kerry Sue McCallister-Higgins was arrested Monday night on a felony charge of grand theft.
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, McCallister-Higgins had check-signing privileges as an office manager and bookkeeper at Golson Law Firm, which used to be at 601 Cleveland St. N.
Over the course of six years or longer, McCallister-Higgins wrote "multiple, unauthorized" checks to herself, an arrest report shows.
She used others to pay for credit card purchases at grocery stores, movie theaters, drugstores and various other shops. Others paid bills for hotels, hair-dos, rental cars, student loans and a cell phone, said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Cecilia Barreda.
At the time of her arrest, Detective David Kavanagh with the Sheriff's Office economic crimes unit had identified $175,939 in missing funds. But that amount may rise as detectives continue to investigate, Barreda said.
Related listings
-
Ex-Raider Russell pleads not guilty in Ala. case
Criminal Law 07/21/2010Former Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell pleaded not guilty to a charge of illegal drug possession Tuesday in Alabama.Russell, 24, is a former LSU star who was released by Oakland after being the No. 1 draft choice in 2007. He entered the ...
-
Guilty plea entered in Obama student loan case
Criminal Law 07/20/2010Another person accused of viewing President Barack Obama's student loan records at a U.S. Department of Education contractor in Iowa has pleaded guilty.Patrick Roan pleaded guilty last week to a misdemeanor. The Iowa City man is scheduled to be sente...
-
No bail for Maine man detained in car bomb probe
Criminal Law 07/16/2010A Pakistani man detained on an immigration violation in Maine while authorities investigated the attempted Times Square car bombing will continue to be held in jail because an immigration judge revoked his bail.Mohammad Shafiq Rahman's family rounded...
Is Now the Time to Really Call a Special Education Lawyer?
IDEA, FAPE, CHILD FIND and IEPs: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guarantees all children with disabilities to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). FAPE starts with a school’s responsibility to identify that a child has a disability (Child Find) and create an Individualized Education Program (IEP) to suit the needs of the child.
Forte Law Group is one of only a very few law firms within the state of Connecticut that is dedicated to exclusively representing families and children with special needs.
Parents need to be persistent, dedicated and above all else aware of the many services and accommodations that their child is entitled to under the law. As early as this point within your child’s special education, many parents will often find themselves in the situation asking, “is now the time to really call a special education lawyer?” Here are a few things to consider when asking yourself that question.