AP/Lang
11/20/19
The former office manager of the Iowa City Area Development Group is facing federal charges for a 13-year theft scheme in which she misspent more than a half-million dollars.
Court documents filed Wednesday show that Sheri Jelinek is charged with seven counts of wire fraud.
A plea agreement signed earlier this month calls for Jelinek to plead guilty to those charges, which each carry up to 20 years in prison.
It comes about five months after a state audit documented her embezzlement from the nonprofit, which promotes workforce and economic development and is funded by local businesses.
A charging document alleges that Jelinek used the group’s money from 2004 to 2017 for more than 10,000 unauthorized purchases on its credit card that totaled $502,000.
The investigation determined that Jelinek spent the money on the Home Shopping Network, Hulu, Walmart, the Linn County Rural Electrical Cooperative and other personal purchases.
In the plea agreement, Jelinek admits only that her theft was more than $150,000 and the full amount will be determined by the court.