Deal is pending in forgery case
SANDPOINT - A Bonner County woman is scheduled to enter a plea later this month for embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from her employers.
Brandince Ann Boyd is charged with two counts of forgery and one count of grand theft. A proposed plea deal would allow Boyd to plead to a single charge of her choosing and the other charges would be dismissed, court records show.
Boyd is also being sued by the companies she accused of ripping off, Pure Health Solutions Inc. and Water Engineering Technologies LLC. The suit accuses her of embezzlement, forgery, conspiracy, conversion and unjust enrichment.
Pure Health Solutions, a Sandpoint company which markets high-end water purification systems, employed Boyd as a bookkeeper in 2005 and part of her duties included doing books for the Water Engineering Technologies' business account. Pure Health Solutions owns a majority stake in WET, a Washington state company, according to documents in the civil case.
The civil suit said Boyd's deception cost the companies more than $90,000, money which was allegedly used to purchase luxury items such as all-terrain vehicles, a vintage imported sports car and horses.
The embezzlement came to light in August, when it was discovered Boyd had been writing unauthorized checks to herself, a Sandpoint Police report said.
Boyd, 31, was confronted and admitted forging checks because she was having financial problems, the police report said.
"Boyd stated it was tough to stop and she had tried to quit but could not," Det. Corey Coon said in the report.
Boyd reportedly told police her husband was unaware of the embezzlement, although the civil suit names Richard Boyd and his landscaping business as defendants. The suit alleges Richard Boyd was aware of his wife's activities.
No criminal charges are pending against Richard Boyd.
The lawsuit further alleges that the couple used the ill-gotten gains to purchase a 1969 Porsche 911, pickup trucks, ATVs, motorcycles, flatbed trailers and a number of horses. James Macdonald, counsel for the plaintiffs, obtained a writ of attachment to seize the items so they cannot be sold or used to bankroll the defense.
Some of the listed items were seized last month, court records indicate.
But the couple's civil counsel, Todd Reed, successfully challenged the writ and some of the vehicles and equipment were ordered to be returned. In quashing the writ, District Judge John Mitchell forbid the couple from selling any of the items.
The plea deal in Brady Boyd's criminal case calls for full restitution, a sum which has not been disclosed in court records yet. Other terms of the plea agreement propose local jail time at the court's discretion and a suspended prison sentence.