Amboy woman pleads guilty to embezzling more than $300,000 from Sublette resort

DIXON – The former accounting administrator for Woodhaven Lakes in Sublette will be sentenced Jan. 17 for embezzling more than $300,000 from the lakeside resort.

Donna Unrath, 55, of Amboy, pleaded guilty Nov. 30 in Lee County court to theft of more than $100,000 but less than $500,000. She faces four to 15 years in prison.

One count of theft of more than $10,000 but less than $100,000 was dismissed.

Unrath was charged April 29, 2022, when the theft initially was thought to be about $50,000.

The total was pegged at $333,046 after an internal investigation done by the private campground’s finance department staff.

The theft happened over the course of almost seven years, from April 2015 to November 2021.

At a board of directors meeting that July, Jeff Hickey, executive director of the campground at 509 La Moille Road, read Woodhaven’s official statement on the theft.

According to excerpts from the statement, Woodhaven staff identified “inconsistencies with accounting procedures” before Unrath resigned in October 2021, more inconsistencies immediately after her resignation, “inconsistencies with financial records and theft of funds” within months of her resignation, and still more “while preparing Woodhaven’s year-end financial statements for audit.”

The inconsistencies “likely suggested theft of Woodhaven funds over the course of the past few years,” Hickey said. “The total amount identified through our internal investigation is $333,046.”

The board expects restitution be provided through its insurance company, Hickey said.