Other LanguagesOLYMPIA – The Washington State Attorney General’s Office Friday charged Emily Kirk of Pullman, Wash., with theft of $13,910 from Whitcom 911 Employee Guild. The Guild’s treasurer is accused of Theft in the First Degree, Money Laundering and Forgery.
From June 2011 through August 2012, state prosecutors say Kirk drafted, signed and endorsed checks to herself and forged Guild President William Cory Brincken’s signature. According to a statement of probable cause signed by Washington State Patrol Detective Mark Fehler, during this same time period, Kirk also allegedly deposited Guild dues checks and illegally conducted other cash withdrawals from Guild accounts. The state alleges Kirk then used this money from her personal checking account for other financial transactions. The combined total from the check and cash transactions illegally obtained by Kirk is $13,910.13.
Brincken became aware of low balances and unexplained transactions in the Whitcom 911 Guild bank accounts on August 8, 2012. Since the Guild’s inception, only the Guild president and the treasurer have had the authority to withdraw funds from the Guild bank accounts, issue Guild checks, or access funds. Whitcom employee, Kirk, was elected treasurer in Jan. 2012. She was previously the interim Guild treasurer from June 2011 through Dec. 2011.
Whitcom is a regional E911 dispatch center located in Pullman, Wash. Whitcom 911 Guild is a collective bargaining organization for Whitcom employees.
Assistant Attorney General Scott Marlow will prosecute the case.
-30-
Contact: Janelle Guthrie, APR, Communications Director, 360-586-0725