By Tracie Sullivan, For Iron County Today
A Cedar City woman is facing felony theft and multiple fraud charges after police say she spent years taking money from a charitable organization’s bank account for personal use.
Deena Black Marchal, 56, was arrested Thursday and booked into the Iron County Jail on one count of second-degree felony theft and 10 counts of unlawful use of a financial transaction card, class B misdemeanors.
According to charging documents filed in 5th District Court, police were notified of possible fraud involving a charitable bank account and began reviewing financial statements tied to the organization.
Police allege Marchal, who was responsible for overseeing the charity’s finances, transferred money from the organization’s account into her personal account over a period of approximately three years.
Investigators also allege she used the organization’s debit card to make dozens of personal purchases, both online and in person.
The affidavit states Marchal would occasionally transfer money back into the charitable account, but detectives say the deposits never matched the amount removed.
Police estimate roughly $30,000 was transferred into her personal account, while about $12,000 had been repaid before the activity was discovered. Investigators also estimated an additional $3,000 was withdrawn through ATM transactions.
During an interview conducted with her attorney present, Marchal allegedly admitted the first transfer and debit card use were accidental, but told investigators “that opened the door and became easier for her to use money moving forward.”
According to the affidavit, Marchal estimated she had used approximately $50,000 from the charitable account and acknowledged she had not repaid close to that amount.
Court documents state the theft charge was filed based on the total amount allegedly taken, while the misdemeanor counts stem from alleged personal use of the organization’s debit card.