Suspended sentence for Lake Mills woman accused of stealing money from Forest City group facility clients

FOREST CITY — It’s a suspended prison sentence for a Lake Mills woman accused of stealing money from clients of a Forest City group facility for dependent adults.

48-year-old Michelle Loth Dreier was originally charged with: one count of ongoing criminal conduct, a Class B felony; five counts of dependent adult abuse and one count of second-degree theft, each Class D felonies; as well as two counts of forgery, both aggravated misdemeanors.

Criminal complaints filed in Winnebago County District Court stated that  Loth Dreier was employed as the supervisor at the MOSAIC group facility, providing training and guidance to persons served, and overseeing the accounting of individual finances. The complaints detail over $2900 being stolen from five individuals at the facility over a period of about a year and a half. Debit and EBT cards were used to the financial benefit of  Loth Dreier and her daughter, Harley Loth. 

Loth Dreier as part of a plea agreement pleaded guilty to the five counts of dependent adult abuse. Prosecutors recommended a suspended five-year prison sentence with five years probation and that she pay back the money to the victims while serving probation. District Judge Rustin Davenport agreed with that recommendation when sentencing Loth Dreier on Tuesday.

Harley Loth was charged with one count of ongoing criminal conduct and seven counts of unauthorized use of a credit card. She has pleaded not guilty with her trial scheduled to start on August 27th.