WABASHA, Minn. – A bookkeeper whose $3.7 million embezzlement helped put National Chemical of Lewiston into bankruptcy pleaded guilty. The plea from Sharon Schmalzriedt, 61, of Wabasha, was part of plea deal that requires her to return the money. There would be no prison time, just five years of probation. Also: A separate charge of stealing $17,000 from a vulnerable adult would be dismissed. The deal still needs approval from Judge Christopher Neisen. Schmalzriedt earlier explained that she had sent the money to an online lover she had never met and that the transfers were in hard-to-trace ways. The man had called himself Eric Lockwood and promised to repay. It was a scam.
Earlier: Wabasha bookkeeper blamed for $3.7 million embezzlement