Tyler woman sentenced to 8 years probation for embezzlement

TYLER — A Tyler woman was sentenced to eight years of deferred adjudication Thursday morning and ordered to pay back more than $40,000 in restitution for an embezzling scheme. According to our news partner KETK, Vicki Melhart, 40, pleaded guilty to writing herself checks while working for Deerbrook Storage Unit. Between Oct. 2, 2019, and April 4, 2020, she wrote 107 checks for more than $40,000 out of the company’s account. The owner of the company told police that Melhart’s job had been “renting units, paying various bills, and taking payments.” She was fired when the owner found out that she had been writing the checks and forging his or his son’s signature. In total, the checks added up to $40,125.35. In an interview with police, Melhart said that she had written the checks because she was “not making enough money.” She also asked “to pay the money back to the owner instead of going to jail.” Deferred adjudication is different from probation in that if she completes the conditions of her plea deal over the next eight years and is not arrested for any further crimes, the charge is wiped from her record.