Bluffton woman to serve 5 years in prison for stealing from employer

ABluffton woman who embezzled money from two employers, including a local development company, was sentenced to serve five years in prison Thursday.

Kristy Mabrey, 37, of Cobblers Court pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of breach of trust for stealing $28,881 from the Oakview Commons Owners Association between August 2008 and January 2009, according to a press release from the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office.

Mabrey had been hired by the developer Quinnco in July 2008.

Investigators determined that Mabrey had written checks to herself from an Oakview Commons bank account and arranged direct debits from the account to pay her personal phone and electric bills.

Mabrey already was on probation for a breach of trust conviction in Jasper County in which she stole $32,000 from an employer. So far, she has paid back $20,000.

Judge Stephens Macaulay revoked Mabrey's probation, requiring her to serve a five-year sentence for the Jasper conviction. He sentenced her to 10 years in prison suspended upon serving two years in prison and five years of probation for the Beaufort County case. The two sentences are to run at the same time. She also must pay $28,881 in restitution.