Lang
3/28/25
A former Iowa City hotel manager accused of diverting funds meant for the business to her personal accounts once had a prior embezzlement accusation against her.
Iowa City Police say 59-year-old Monica Adair of Solon was the manager of the Hampton Inn on Sturgis Corner Drive. The hotel owner, Hawkeye Hotels, had an arrangement with a local swim instruction school to rent the hotel’s pool.
Adair allegedly went around the agreement by directing the swim school to write rental payment checks directly to her. Between June 2023 and February 2024, Adair reportedly deposited four checks totaling $3,600 into her personal accounts.
KCJJ has since discovered a Daily Iowan article from March 23rd, 2005, which states Adair was being sued by Systems Unlimited for allegedly writing checks from the organization’s accounts and depositing them into her own accounts. Adair worked for Systems Unlimited from 1995 to 2003, and she had access to the company’s checking account. Systems Unlimited also sued its accounting firm, McGladry and Pullen LLP, for negligence.
There is no follow-up to the DI online article indicating the result of the lawsuit, and the case no longer appears on Iowa Courts Online.
Adair and 25-year-old Shelbie Jeffrey of Kountry Lane in Iowa City, who followed Adair at the Hampton Inn and allegedly continued the same scheme involving the swim school, are each charged with 2nd Degree Theft. They both face up to five years in prison, if convicted.