Beasley sentenced to 15 years in Whaley theft
Published 3:00 am Saturday, January 5, 2019
Marjorie Beasley has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in connection with a theft scheme in which she stole millions of dollars from her employer Whaley Construction.
Judge Tom Head sentenced Beasley Friday for her role in the theft scheme, which prosecutors said was the biggest theft case in the history of Pike County.
“Today witnesses were tendered to establish aggravating factors, which included proof of the theft exceeding $2.178 million in hopes that Judge Head would depart above the sentencing guidelines,”said District Attorney Tom Anderson. “Judge Head ruled that the state proved aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Anderson said prosecutors and the Whaley family are satisfied with the sentence Head handed down.
“We were very satisfied with the sentencing, as are the victims,” Anderson said. “They think it sends a strong message to all the citizens of Pike County that the court system is not going to allow theft. This is something that affected the family, employees, subcontractors –lots and lots of people. We think the firm sentence is a great thing.”
Beasley pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree theft of property in October 2018.
Anderson said charges against other individuals connected to the scheme are still pending. Anderson said Karron White, another former employee of the company, was the “number two” person behind the scheme.
“They’d take money from one account, write a check to another and deposit it and get cash back,” Anderson said. “Anything that was ever issued to be cashed, they always pocketed it. They did that probably several times a week. Marjorie took steps to hide it in the system.”
Jeanette Holliday, the sister of Beasley and the mother of White, was also indicted and charged with first-degree theft of property for allegedly using the company’s employee insurance program despite not being employed by the company. Anderson said the company unknowingly and unwillingly paid Holliday’s premiums in excess of $78,000, even though company records show she was never employed by Whaley Construction.