Prosecutor files charges in two white-collar crime cases

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office announced Thursday morning that it has filed multiple theft charges in two separate white-collar crime cases, one involving an Indianapolis attorney accused of stealing nearly $600,000.

Stacy H. Sheedy, a local lawyer and accountant, has been charged with three counts of theft and one count of forgery following an extensive investigation that found $596,000 missing from two accounts.

Prosecutors were alerted last year to a possible theft from a guardianship account supporting an elderly woman diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and residing in a nursing home. Investigators found several unauthorized transfers and withdrawals, including checks Sheedy wrote to herself and to her business totaling more than $170,000, prosecutors said.

Sheedy received responsibility for the guardianship account in June 2010 and was removed in April 2011. Prosecutors allege she made at least 32 unauthorized withdrawals in a six-month span.

Information discovered during that investigation led investigators to also examine her role as trustee of a family trust, for which Sheedy had served since November 2007.

The trust account, valued at $501,000 when Sheedy became trustee, now has a value of just $168, prosecutors said. They allege that she made unauthorized withdrawals of more than $400,000.

Combined, Sheedy is charged with five counts of theft and two counts of forgery.

In the other case, prosecutors charged Cheryl Dillon-Britt with 14 counts of theft for allegedly stealing more than $200,000 from the foundation of Alpha Tau Omega, a national collegiate fraternity headquartered in Indianapolis.

As the foundation’s director of programs and services, Dillon-Britt used her position to issue checks to friends and family members and then deposited the funds into accounts she co-owned with the individuals, according to the charges.

Prosecutors said none of the individuals was aware of her activities and will not be charged.