MESSAGE FROM PROSECUTOR SHERRI BEVAN WALSH

Contact:  April Wiesner

(330) 643-8386

Wilkinson Pleads to Grand Theft

(October 6, 2011… Akron) … Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh announced today that Melissa Wilkinson, 45, of Theiss Road in Cuyahoga Falls, pleaded guilty late yesterday to two counts of Grand Theft, fourth-degree felonies.

Between March 2000 and November 2010, Wilkinson used her volunteer position as treasurer of Beta Tau Housing Corporation of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority at the University of Akron to steal just under $100,000 from the organization. Wilkinson also stole more than $5,500 from the Junior Women’s Civic Club of Akron between October 2008 and June 2010 when she served as treasurer. The University of Akron Police Department and university auditors discovered the theft from the civic club during an investigation into Wilkinson’s actions at the sorority on the campus of the university.

“University of Akron Lt. Bryan Taylor and the university’s internal auditor Nathan Mortimer conducted a thorough investigation without which we might not have discovered the extent to which Ms. Wilkinson defrauded two nonprofit organizations,” said Summit County Prosecuting Attorney Sherri Bevan Walsh. “I’m extremely pleased with the work of everyone involved, and I am especially glad that these two organizations are finally able to get their money back.”

As part of her case resolution, Wilkinson made immediate restitution to the Beta Tau Housing Corporation and the Junior Women’s Civic Club. The sorority will now be able to fix their roof and make other repairs they could not previously afford, while the Junior Women’s Civic Club will once again be able to fund scholarships for deserving young women. Additionally, the cash and property removed from Wilkinson’s home during a search conducted by the University of Akron Police Department will be turned over to the sorority to further recoup their losses.

Judge Judy Hunter sentenced Wilkinson to a suspended 12 months in prison plus 120 days of house arrest, two years of community control, 100 hours of community service and a mental health evaluation.

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