by Alan McArthur
Landmark reporter

A Camden Point woman pled guilty to stealing from a company in Waldron.

On Thursday, Deborah S. Oliphant, 46, of Camden Point, pled guilty to the charges stemming from a theft of an amount believed to be more than $8,000 from a company in Waldron, Mo.

The company, Waldron, L.L.C., operates two businesses, Silkpaint and SugarVeil from the Waldron location. Oliphant oversaw the finances for both businesses.

According to court documents, Oliphant made several unauthorized cash withdrawals from ATMs from the bank accounts at Farley State Bank. Oliphant was the only person with debit cards with access to the accounts.

The Platte County Sheriff's Department was notified of the thefts when the owner of the company notified them saying she believed Oliphant had taken money. The report was made in June 2008.

In the court papers, Oliphant told the investigating officer that she attempted to cover up the stealing by making “false entries into the company's (bookkeeping) system.” The entries would be duplicate entries or show payments made by credit cards were made with a check or debit card.

According to authorities, Oliphant stole the money because she had trouble with her personal finances.

Oliphant pled guilty to the class C Felony for stealing $8,074.87 from the company.

The sentence in the case is for Oliphant to repay the businesses $1,200 on Feb. 19. She is then to begin paying $230 per month beginning on March 15 and to continue until the amount is paid in full.

In addition to repaying the amount stolen, Oliphant also received a three-year period of supervised probation.

At the rate of $230 per month, the payments will continue for 30 months.

Oliphant was represented by attorney Sarah Recker.

Silkpaint makes painting products to color cloth or other products. The SugarVeil business produces edible icing painting products to be applied to cakes.