Embezzlement trial postponed

SANDPOINT — Criminal proceedings against a Sagle woman accused of embezzling from a midwifery clinic have been pushed back.

Samantha Sue Wasylko was scheduled to stand trial in 1st District Court, but the matter is being postponed until May 14. The reason behind the postponement was not immediately clear because documents from a pretrial hearing on Friday were not immediately available.

Wasylko, 43, pleaded not guilty to grand theft and is free on her own recognizance while the case is pending.

Wasylko, formerly known as Samantha Jeffres, is accused of embezzling from Pend Oreille Midwifery while employed as the clinic’s office manager in 2015. The company’s accountant testified at a preliminary hearing last summer that the embezzlement was discovered after an accountant discovered irregularities in the birthing clinic’s financial records.

Wasylko allegedly received more than $10,000 in cash payments from customers, but pocketed the money instead of depositing into the company’s bank account, according to court records.

Wasylko invoked her right to remain silent during the preliminary hearing and did not testify.

The state argued at the hearing that Wasylko was the only person in the office who handled the clinic’s financial transactions.

The defense noted that there was no way to tell if someone else used her credentials to log into the clinic’s bookkeeping computer program.

Bonner County Magistrate Court Judge Justin Julian found there was sufficient evidence to justify trying Wasylko for the felony offense, which set the stage for a jury trial in district court.

If convicted, Waslyko faces a one- to 20-year prison term.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.