Woman pleads guilty to embezzling $64,000 from the Ramada Inn

MORGANTOWN — A woman who stole more than $60,000 while she worked for the Ramada Inn pleaded guilty to felony embezzlement Wednesday.
Judge Phillip Gaujot accepted the guilty plea of Amanda M. Campbell, also known as Amanda Ford, in Monongalia County Circuit Court.
As part of the plea agreement sentencing will be delayed for a pre-trial diversion during which Campbell will spend two years on probation and make regular monthly payments to re-pay the embezzled funds, Chad Noel, prosecutor, said.
Should Campbell complete the pre-trial diversion, she will be given a new deal where she will plead to misdemeanor embezzlement and a sentencing hearing will be set.
If she fails to complete the pre-trial diversion, a sentencing hearing will be set for felony embezzlement. The felony count carries a prison sentence of one to 10 years while the misdemeanor version is punishable by up to a year in jail. Both crimes carry a fine.
Noel said if the case had gone to trial, the state would have proven that during her employment as a bookkeeper with D&M Investments Inc., doing business as Ramada Inn & Conference Center, Campbell stole more than $90,000.
In total, Campbell will repay $64,695.96 in restitution. She both took cash that she had access to and wrote checks to herself using a company account, Noel said.
The crimes occurred between December 2007 and August 2014. The Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department investigated and Campbell was indicted by the May session of the Monongalia County grand jury.