Charges loom in Orem theft

OREM — An employee who city officials believe embezzled more than $200,000 from the city-owned Orem Fitness Center could face formal charges soon.

Assistant city manager Richard Manning said the investigation into the alleged embezzlement is within a few days of being completed.

"We're not prepared right now to go public with our findings," Manning said Friday. "The investigation is ongoing, but it is winding down."

Manning said city attorney Paul Johnson has the information and will be sending it to the county attorney for a determination on whether charges are warranted probably by the end of this week.

The identity of the man under investigation, who had been a longtime employee at the center, has not been released by the city. Officials say the man confessed to taking money from the center after a routine employee review on Nov. 28, 2004. The man resigned the following day and has offered to repay the money, which at the time he said was about $50,000.

Investigators believe the amount is closer to $215,000.

Manning said the former employee has been told that the missing amount is considerably higher than originally believed.

"He is exploring ways to pay that back," Manning said.

What isn't paid back will be reimbursed by the city's insurance provider, said city manager Jim Reams. City and fitness center officials were unaware of the embezzlement or a cash balance problem until the employee told his supervisor about it, Reams said. He said city staff members were shaken by the revelation and steps are being taken to ensure it doesn't happen again. They are also trying to make sure it isn't occurring in other city departments.

"No. 1, we immediately reviewed the cash-handling processes over there, found out some precautions that should have been in place that were not being followed and we re-implemented those," Reams said.

The city also reviewed how other city departments are handling cash, and an audit committee has been put together to choose an independent company to review city financial procedures.

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