Chatham-Kent Courthouse. March 1, 2016. (Photo by Simon Crouch) Chatham-Kent Courthouse. March 1, 2016. (Photo by Simon Crouch)
Chatham

Chatham Woman Pleads Guilty In Fraud Case

A Chatham woman accused of defrauding her former workplace out of more than $300,000 has pleaded guilty.

Chatham resident Stephanie Bellamy pleaded guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000 on Monday.

Stephanie and her husband Jeffrey Bellamy were arrested on October 5, 2016, following an internal fraud investigation at Dana Canada Corp. Stephanie was charged with 101 counts of forgery and 101 counts of uttering forged documents, along with one count of fraud over $5,000. Jeffrey's charge of fraud over $5,000 was later dropped.

Chatham-Kent police told BlackburnNewsCK.com during the initial investigation that a Dana accounting analyst used company credit cards to withdraw $334,000 in cash advances.

According to investigators, Stephanie Bellamy used the cash to get money orders, altering the carbon copies to look like they were paid out to valid vendors. Police say the originals went to Stephanie and her husband’s personal accounts instead.

Stephanie will be sentenced at the Chatham courthouse on May 17 at 10am.

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