Caldwell
An Indianapolis woman has pled guilty and been sentenced to 180 days in jail after prosecutors say she stole more than $26,000 from a local camp.
Alysia Caldwell, 34, pled guilty and was sentenced on two counts of theft, a Level 6 felony, in Johnson County Superior Court 2 Thursday. Once she’s completed her jail sentence, she will spend 1.5 years on probation. She is also required to pay $26,534.51 in restitution.
A CHAMP Camp board member reported to police in February 2021 that between December 2019 and January 2021, Caldwell had used camp funds to pay her mortgage, rent, internet, phone and utility bills, and had also made payments to a collection agency, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Johnson County Superior Court 2 in October 2021.
Caldwell ran the Greenwood nonprofit, which provides outdoor summer camps for children and adolescents who have tracheotomies and require respiratory assistance, for three years — between January 2018 and January 2021, when she was let go due to funding restraints, according to court documents.
Using camp funds, Caldwell paid her mortgage 11 times totaling nearly $18,000. She made six payments to a property management group totaling $4,700, and nine payments to an internet and phone provider totaling $1,500. She also used camp funds at retail stores, restaurants and gas stations, court documents show.
When the board reached out to Caldwell about the missing funds, she told them she had made a mistake and accidentally paid her mortgage with the wrong account and would transfer it back within days. A few days later, she told police she was aware of the situation and was working to correct it. She also told police she had transferred the money back and that it would be available within 24 to 48 hours. That was in February 2021. As of October 20221, Caldwell had not made any deposits or transfers to the camp’s bank account, according to court documents.
Greenwood police spent the spring and summer subpoenaing and compiling information from all the companies involved in the fraudulent transactions, court documents show.
After Caldwell’s sentencing on Thursday, prosecutors thanked representatives of CHAMP Camp who had appeared in court to testify about the effects of her actions.
“We were pleased the Judge ultimately imposed jail time in this instance, even though Caldwell has no criminal history, simply based on the nature and circumstances of this crime,” the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office said on Facebook Thursday.
