Former Clarkston City Councilwoman Joan Swaney pleaded guilty Monday to a federal bank fraud charge for embezzling about $60,000 from the Clarkston Community Center.
Swaney, who served as the city’s vice mayor in 2012, resigned from office shortly after she was indicted on federal charges in October. She was elected to the City Council in 2010.
Federal prosecutors said Swaney used the embezzled money to pay for medical bills, family vacations, a boat charter and other personal expenses. Swaney committed the fraud when she served as the community center’s office manager, a position she held from 2003 until the end of last year.
While a member on the council, Swaney posted her personal motto on the city’s website: “Live with purpose, act with character.”
“Unfortunately, she failed to live up to these ideals when she stole tens of thousands of dollars from the Clarkston Community Center,” U.S. Attorney Sally Yates said Monday.
Swaney, who is free on bond, entered her guilty plea before Senior U.S. District Judge Charles Pannell Jr. She is to be sentenced March 6.
As the community center’s office manager, Swaney regularly received reimbursements for supplies she purchased for the facility. In 2010, Swaney began writing checks to herself from the community center’s bank account. From 2010 to 2012, she made the checks payable directly to herself and forged the name of the center’s director onto them, federal prosecutors said.
“It was so out of character,” Swaney’s lawyer, Danny Durham, said of his client’s conduct. “A lot of it was to pay for some large, unexpected medical bills for her husband.”
As part of the plea agreement, Swaney agreed to pay back in restitution what she took from the center. Already, Durham said, friends and family have donated more than $60,000 to help Swaney fulfill her obligation.
“All she had to do was let them know she was in a bind before all this happened,” Durham said.
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