Former Mapleton official gets jail for theft of city funds

PROVO — Mapleton's former finance chief was sentenced to jail Thursday for embezzling almost $30,000.

Fourth District Judge James Taylor ordered Jeannie Bell to serve 90 days, with credit for the 33 days she spent in the Clark County jail in Nevada after fleeing to Las Vegas in November, as well as two days in the Utah County Jail.

Bell, 49, pleaded guilty in March to theft, a second-degree felony. She used a city credit card to purchase stamps and gift cards for employee bonuses, then sold them online.

Mapleton city officials asked that she serve no more jail time in exchange for a $25,000 lump sum restitution payment.

Bell also was ordered to pay $7,900 to cover the cost of a city audit that determined the extent of her fraud.

Taylor said he usually does not give credit for time served. He will allow Bell to do her jail time through GPS monitoring.

"You violated the public trust," the judge said. "There needs to be some accountability for that."

He also ordered that Bell, now working as a bookkeeper through a temp agency, not occupy any position of fiduciary responsibility.

According to prosecutor Craig Johnson, Bell started defrauding the city to help her son, who had served in the military and was having financial problems.

"She may have helped her son, but she hurt every citizen of Mapleton city," Johnson said.

Bell declined to comment, but her attorney, Douglas Baxter, said she felt terrible about letting down her co-workers.

"It was like disappointing a family member, and that's made it even harder on her," he said.

Bell resigned as finance controller last June after city officials confronted her. She had been the city's controller since 2002.

e-mail: pkoepp@desnews.com