Former law office environment employee sentenced for stealing hundreds from countrywide charity

A would-be attorney has been sentenced following pleading responsible in Jackson County Superior Court to pocketing revenue earmarked for St. Jude Children’s Study Healthcare facility.

Assistant District Legal professional Christina Matheson said Cheryl Moss, 41, a former Coward, Hicks and Siler staff in Cashiers, pleaded responsible to five felony counts of embezzlement.

Moss bypassed various legislation-agency safeguards and siphoned off $41,465 from a $2.9 million belief, reported Matheson, a prosecutor for District Legal professional Ashley Hornsby Welch, who oversees the 43rd Prosecutorial District.

Matheson explained to Remarkable Courtroom Decide Steve Warren that Moss utilised the revenue to invest in a Harley-Davidson motorbike and a 2016 BMW activity utility vehicle. Moss also paid out credit rating-card credit card debt with her sick-gotten gains.

She borrowed funds from family members associates to repay the law business, according to court testimony.

The belief money are now with St. Jude’s. The nonprofit clinic is positioned in Memphis, Tennessee, managing significant, daily life-threatening children’s health conditions, significantly leukemia and other cancers. Households are not billed for their children’s treatment.

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Choose Warren purchased Moss serve 120 days in the N.C. Office of Corrections, overriding her attorney’s request she be spared energetic time.

Attorney Christopher Fialko of Charlotte then requested the judge delay activating Moss’ sentence until finally May well or June, reducing her possible exposure to COVID-19 though in prison.

Matheson responded that Moss should be treated like every single other particular person sentenced in Jackson County’s courts. The decide agreed, stating, “That’s what we are likely to do.”

In addition to active time, Choose Warren consolidated for sentencing the 5 felony counts into two judgements. He handed down two, six- to seven-month sentences, to be served consecutively, suspended.

Moss will be on 24 months supervised probation as soon as unveiled from prison. She also should carry out 100 hours of group service.

In court docket, Moss informed her previous boss and two co-staff she regrets stealing the revenue.

“I embarrassed myself, my spouse and children and ruined my status,” she claimed.

Moss commenced working for Coward, Hicks and Siler in November 2015 following failing to pass the bar exam, a elementary need to getting a legislation license. She gained personalized mentoring from Coward and a promise of money support to pay out for a bar-review study course.

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Coward explained to the judge she had hopes Moss would go the bar, get her license and most likely, one particular working day, join the regulation business.

Moss introduced her embezzlement plan in February 2018, altering a wire transfer of the have faith in cash. She then solid Coward’s signature on checks and adjusted other lawful paperwork and ledger entries.

The scheme unraveled when Moss failed in May well 2019 to delete an entry, and a co-employee observed a discrepancy in the bank stability.

Coward reported Moss “methodically and systematically” abused the rely on positioned in her at Coward, Hicks and Siler.

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