Remember this story out of Oklahoma earlier this year when a former Oklahoma Beef Council accountant pled guilty to stealing more than $2.6 million from the non-profit organization over a seven-year period? Well now the Oklahoma Beef Council is seeking to recover those embezzled funds and is suing the auditor for not catching the accountant in the act.
According to NewsOK, the Oklahoma Beef Council filed a lawsuit Monday against Arledge & Associates of Edmond, asserting the auditor failed to catch Melissa Day Morton’s embezzlement of more than $2.6 million. The auditor has responded back saying the council’s bookkeeping materials had already been changed to hide any evidence of embezzlement prior to the firm receiving the documents.
In June, Morton, 45, pled guilty to two counts of bank fraud and false federal income tax return. According to legal documents, Morton forged 790 unauthorized checks, drawing money from business accounts at the Bank of Oklahoma into her personal account.
The beef council has also filed a civil suit seeking to recover the funds from Morton in Oklahoma County District Court.
