Court reporters accused of stealing $485K by billing for bogus pages
Updated: Three court reporters in Cherokee County, Georgia, are facing theft and racketeering charges, accused of stealing a total of $485,000 by billing for bogus pages.
Betty Petersen, 73, and Kimberly Probst, 50, and Tammy Stine, 55, are charged with theft by taking, theft by deception, giving false statements and racketeering, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
At the request of the district attorney, the county sheriff’s office began a probe in July. It determined that Probst stole $59,821, Peterson stole $79,229 and Stine stole $346,676 by intentionally formatting court records incorrectly and obtaining reimbursement for pages that didn’t exist, Lt. Jay Baker said.
Petersen was released Sunday by a magistrate’s order; Probst remained in jail Monday on $183,939 bond, and Stine remained in jail Monday on $253,827 bond, Baker said.
The article doesn’t include any comment from the suspects or their legal counsel, and the district attorney’s office declined to discuss the case with the newspaper.
Updated Sept. 23 to include information about Stine.
