Apr. 10—LEWISTON, Minn. — A Wabasha County woman admitted to redirecting more than $3.75 million from her Lewiston, Minnesota employer as a result of an online scam.
Sharon Schmalzriedt, 61, of Wabasha, entered a guilty plea in Wabasha County District Court on Tuesday, April 9, 2024 to a felony count of theft.
In the plea, Schmalzriedt admitted to diverting funds from National Chemicals Inc. where she was a bookkeeper for the company's Lewiston office. She was fired for gross negligence in March of 2023 after financial irregularities were noticed. In the plea agreement, she will avoid prison time, pay more than $3.75 million in restitution to the company and serve 1,000 hours of community service work.
Schmalzriedt had been diverting company funds for years, according to the criminal complaint filed in the case.
The complaint said she was having marital problems and, in October 2019, began an online relationship with a man identifying himself as Erik Lockwood.
According to message transcripts, Lockwood and another person identifying themself as Lockwood's attorney, told Schmalzriedt that Lockwood was owed $7 million for work he did in Dubai. They told Schmalzriedt that Lockwood needed to borrow money to access the money he was owed, transcripts show.
Schmalzriedt told an agent with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension she initially sent her own money and money she said she had permission to borrow from the business.
Messages show that Schmalzriedt was aware she was stealing from National Chemicals Inc. and causing the company financial difficulties.
In the complaint, Schmalzriedt also admitted she took $17,150 — which was reportedly meant to pay for a vulnerable adult's nursing home — and gave it to the people she met online. A felony charge of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult will be dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 25, 2024.