Michigan's Marilyn Elaine Mullins ordered to repay $60k she stole; paying $800 per month

Police say Marilyn Elaine Mullins, a Clarkston, Michigan woman's embezzlement from a Burton dentist office, forced the business to lay off employees after at least $60,000 was stolen.

Mullins, 46, was ordered by Genesee Circuit Judge Joseph J. Farah to repay $60,000 to Convenient Family Dentistry after she pleaded guilty to two counts of embezzlement of $20,000-$50,000 by an agent or trustee and one count of embezzlement of $1,000-$20,000.

"It's a surprise that she didn't bankrupt them," said Burton police detective Shawn Duncanson, who investigated the case.
Duncanson said Mullins, who was in charge of the office's finances, stole money multiple different ways, including crediting her own accounts and taking cash.
The theft was eventually discovered after the office's general manager noticed that revenues were down but could not figure out why, Duncanson said.
Mullins committed a similar crime before in Oakland County but that the background check the dentist office ran did not include the offense, Duncanson said.

Marilyn Elaine Mullins receives restitution order

Duncanson sent Farah a letter asking him to sentence Mullins to prison time, but Farah instead ordered that a one-year jail term be held in abeyance and that Mullins pay $800 per month in restitution to cover the stolen funds. He also placed her on five years' probation at the Oct. 1 sentencing.