Sentence upheld in $2M embezzlement

NORTON SHORES (AP) — An appeals court won’t upset a 6½-year prison sentence for a woman who stole nearly $2 million from a western Michigan credit union.

Kathryn Sue Simmerman worked her way up from teller to chief executive at Shoreline Federal Credit Union in Norton Shores, near Muskegon, before the embezzlement was discovered in 2014.

Her lawyers argued that Simmerman’s sentencing guidelines were too high.

But a federal appeals court ruled late last week the enhancements were appropriate.

The court says Simmerman’s embezzlement threatened the health of the credit union.

The court says the amount of money was equal to 86 percent of Shoreline’s earnings over its 62-year history.