Wisconsin Rapids woman sentenced to nine months for theft from charity

WISCONSIN RAPIDS - A judge ordered a Wisconsin Rapids woman to spend nine months in jail, stay out of the nonprofit business and repay more than $32,000 she's accused of stealing from a charity she ran.

Karolyn D. Weber, 46, previously pleaded no contest and was found guilty of stealing more than $10,000 from Hope's Door, where she was president. Court documents allege Weber actually took $32,433 from the charity, which provides household items, clothes and other items to people in need.

Weber and her family were eligible for assistance from the charity and entitled to some of what she took, said Robert Gardner, her attorney. Although Weber acknowledges that prosecutors could prove she took more than $10,000, fitting the specific charge against her, she wants a restitution hearing to determine exactly what she owes.

Gardner questioned the accuracy of an investigation report that said Weber didn't take responsibly for the thefts. Weber was hurt about what happened and questioned whether the money she repays should go to Random Acts of Kindness, the former Hope's Door.

Wood County Circuit Judge Todd Wolf said the entire pre-sentencing investigation summarized Weber as denying responsibility for her actions.

Jennifer Concklin, a volunteer for the charity who reported the misuse of donations, told the judge Monday that "Weber's actions have caused heartache and stress and tarnished the trust needed for clients and donors."

Random Acts of Kindness is needed more than ever before, Concklin said, with the recent closing of the Bethesda store and the loss of other services that provide clothes and supplies to people in need.

Concklin asked that any sentence include that Weber never again be allowed to work at a nonprofit agency. Wolf ordered Weber not to work for a nonprofit organization without her probation agent's approval.

Wood County Assistant District Attorney David Knaapen said attorneys and police went through boxes of receipts from Hope's Door — receipts that prove Weber took the money. Knaapen asked Wolf to sentence Weber to a year in jail, and said Weber remains defiant about the accusations against her.

Jo Peters testified Monday in defense of Weber, saying that Weber once helped fundraise for the nonprofit that Peters and her husband ran. It hurts to hear Weber's name being slandered in the public, Peters said.

Wolf told Peters that Weber's theft of at least $10,000 from the charity is a fact, not slander.

Weber cried as she told Wolf that she started Hope's Door in Wisconsin Rapids to help people in need.

"I did the best I could, " she said. "I realize I should have been better at bookkeeping, at recordkeeping. I should have gone through the proper channels when I needed help myself."

But the judge questioned Weber's need for a new $642 washing machine and "a gift certificate to Red Lobster," among other items.

Pending the results of a restitution hearing, Wolf ordered Weber to pay a maximum of $32,344.