PORT ANGELES — Catherine Betts could spend the rest of her life repaying the $617,467 she stole from the Clallam County Treasurer’s Office.
Scott Marlow, the state assistant attorney general who prosecuted the case, is requesting she be sentenced to 15 years in prison and be required to repay the missing funds.
Betts, a former Treasurer’s Office cashier, was convicted July 27 of aggravated first-degree theft, money laundering and 19 counts of filing false or fraudulent tax returns on behalf of the county with the state Department of Revenue.
She will be sentenced Wednesday in Clallam County Superior Court.
Betts, who is in a wheelchair, has been living in a cell designed for disabled access at the Clallam County jail since she was found guilty.
Sentencing
Betts’ sentence, under Marlow’s recommendation, would involve 7.5 years for the theft conviction, 7.5 years for money laundering and one year for each of the other offenses.
She would serve 15 years because only the prison time for the theft and money laundering charges would be served consecutively.
First-degree theft and money laundering both have a maximum sentence of 10 years.
The defense had not filed a recommendation for sentencing as of Friday.
Loren Oakley of Clallam-Jefferson Public Defenders could not be reached for comment Friday.
The $617,467 is believed to be the minimum of what she stole over six years by exchanging real estate excise tax checks with money from the office’s cash drawer. As much as $793,595 may have been taken, authorities have said.
What she did with the money remains unknown.
Clallam County’s insurance covered $597,516.
Rest of her life
Betts would have to repay the insurance company for that amount and the county for a $10,000 deductible if the sentence is adopted.
But what if she can’t pay?
Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Deb Kelly said Betts would likely end up repaying the funds for the rest of her life.
“The court will put a tag on them for the rest of their lives,” she said.
Marlow could not be reached for comment Friday.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.