Kaleen Oldridge/Contributed photo
Ex-employee charged with stealing over $35,000 from Elgin business
ELGIN — A Summerville woman is facing multiple felony charges after being accused of embezzling more than $35,000 from an Elgin business.
Stacy Follett, 50, was arrested Wednesday, July 19, after the owners of BillyBob’s & Stafford’s Custom Meats allegedly discovered a forged check worth $3,600 of company funds made out to Follett’s significant other, leading them to uncover a string of unauthorized checks dating back to January 2023.
Now, she awaits a court appearance as the business owners look to get back on their feet.
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Billy and Kaleen Oldridge opened the butcher shop in 2017 when the couple first moved to Elgin. Six years of success almost came to an abrupt end when they mysteriously became short on funds earlier this year.
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“We knew something was going on with the money, because we should’ve been making money, and we didn’t have enough to pay our bills,” Kaleen Oldridge said. “We just couldn’t figure out where the business was hemorrhaging money at. It just wasn’t making sense.”
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She said a review of the company’s previous bank statements revealed at least eight forged or unauthorized checks totaling more than $35,000, which prompted them to call the Union County Sheriff’s Office.
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Follett said she has not hired an attorney and had no other comment about the case.
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Read the full article on The Observer's website here.
