This is an older article from mlive.com that I decided to repost because I believe that it is highly relevant to anyone paying child support and that there is no such thing as too much exposure for a story like this.
Lisa Hovis, ex-Muskegon County Friend of the Court worker, pleads no contest to embezzling child-support money
Published: Wednesday, May 18, 2011, 11:42 AM Updated: Wednesday, May 18, 2011, 12:23 PM
By
Lisa Renee HovisA former Muskegon County 14th Circuit Court clerk has pleaded no contest to embezzling public funds.
Lisa Renee Hovis, 44, of Twin Lake entered the plea Wednesday before visiting 17th Circuit Judge Christopher P. Yates of Kent County. She pleaded no contest, as charged, to one count of embezzlement by a public official of more than $50, a felony.
Hovis was an account clerk in the Friend of the Court division. That made her technically an employee of all four of Muskegon County's circuit judges, leading to the case's transfer to Yates. Yates came to Muskegon County for the plea and scheduled sentencing for 4 p.m. July 18.
Hovis received child-support payments from clients as part of her job. Prosecutors said she took some of the funds for her personal benefit.
The charge stems from an incident Sept. 14, 2009, when Hovis allegedly pocketed $180 from a person who made a $200 payment and was given credit for only $20, authorities said. Hovis became a court employee in August 2009.
Not long after that, the Friend of the Court administrator noticed repeated discrepancies and contacted the Muskegon County Sheriff's Office in December 2009, Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague said earlier.
Hovis was placed on administrative leave shortly after the sheriff's office was contacted, and she was escorted from the Michael E. Kobza Hall of Justice in February 2010 by sheriff's deputies. The embezzlement charge was filed in October.
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