Woman sentenced for theft charges

On August 17, Judge Michael Sullivan sentenced Puget Island resident Donna L. Buck to 90 days in jail and ordered her to pay legal fees as well as restitution in the amount of $115,730.41, after she pled guilty to two counts, theft in the first degree and theft in the second degree.

Buck, 55, had been a bookkeeper for Elochoman Valley Partners, LLC, a self sustaining company managed by Wahkiakum County Health and Human Services, according to court documents. EVP provides services around the community, from lawn care to wood-cutting to managing the bus service, Wahkiakum on the Move.

On August 1, 2014, Chris Holmes of HHS reported a theft from Elochoman Valley Partners, LLC. That day, the sheriff’s office obtained a warrant to search Buck’s premises and seized her laptop.

According to the court documents, on July 24, 2014, Buck had been terminated from her position as bookkeeper for performance issues after six years of employment. Julie Johnston, who had previously managed the account, could not locate the files on the office computer and contacted Buck who said that the files had been moved to her home computer. Johnston told her to bring them back. Buck downloaded them to a flash drive and returned them to Johnston.

While looking through the records, Johnston found some irregularities. Checks were made out with invoice numbers that did not match records. Others were made out to businesses with Buck’s name attached. Johnston found checks for two week payroll periods written to Buck in amounts that easily exceeded the 8-10 hours she worked a week. Instead of $200, Johnston found checks amounting to $503.55 and $714.47.

Over a one year period, Johnston found that the unauthorized checks totaled between $45,000-$50,000.

Johnston confronted Buck, who apologized and became emotional. Buck told the investigating officer that she had a mental illness, PTSD and thyroid cancer and could not work more hours, or enough to cover her bills. She said that she was having difficulty managing and that after taking some money, it had snowballed. Buck had planned to return the money, even looking for a loan, but had no idea how much she had taken.

Deputies found a PDF file on Buck’s laptop entitled “How to Clear Audit Trails in Quickbooks.”

Count 1, Theft in the First Degree, is a felony and carries a maximum sentence of 10 years and a $20,000 fine. Count 2, Theft in the Third Degree, is a misdemeanor and carries a maximum sentence of 364 days and a $5,000 fine. This was a first offense for Buck.

Buck, who entered a guilty plea on July 20, was sentenced to 454 days in jail. 364 of those days were suspended, leaving her with 90 days, which she must begin serving on September 30, 2015.

She is required to get treatment for substance abuse and get a mental health evaluation, as well as meet with a probation officer for two years.