STAR JOURNAL REPORT

A March 24 preliminary hearing has been set in Oneida County Circuit Court for a 24-year-old town of Monico woman accused stealing more than $12,000 when she worked at the Park City Credit Union’s Minocqua branch.

Tabitha A. Kovac, who remains free on a $5,000 signature bond, faces a felony charge of theft in a business setting of more than $10,000. If convicted, she could face a maximum possible penalty of five years of initial confinement in prison, followed by five years of extended supervision, and/or a $25,000 fine.

The court complaint lists the time period of the alleged theft between Oct. 11, 2016, and Jan. 2, 2017. Kovac, whose bond conditions prohibit her from entering the Park City Credit Union premises, was back in court Monday for an adjourned initial appearance before Judge Patrick F. O’Melia.

According to a report from the Minocqua Police Department, 15 different transactions were discovered in which Kovac allegedly used her position as a loan processor at the bank to write money orders and a corporate check for personal gain with the total amount of those transactions coming to $12,174.91.

The police report further states those funds went to an account at the Ripco Credit Union in which Kovac was the account holder. After Park City Credit Union’s president contacted Ripco Credit Union’s president regarding those transactions, the account had $3,200 remaining in it and Ripco froze the account related to the allegedly embezzled money.

Kovac is also accused of having made nine automatic withdrawal transactions from various Park City Credit Union customers to pay for some of her bills. Those transactions were either returned to the customers as unauthorized transactions or refunded by Kovac, according to the police report.