Mother with Gambling Addiction Sentenced to Prison for Theft

(Phoenix, Ariz. - April 13, 2004)   Shannon K. Simmons, 34, of Goodyear was sentenced today in Maricopa County Superior Court to three years in prison for theft.  Simmons’ sentence also includes seven years of supervised probation upon release from jail and an order to pay restitution of over $392,000 to her former employer, Bob Lueck Dairies, of Buckeye.

Ms. Simmons was indicted by the State Grand Jury in January 2004 on fraud and theft charges after an audit revealed that she had stolen $10,000 a month between August 1999 and March 2002 from the Dairy where she was employed as a bookkeeper.  She stole a total of about $380,000.  

Ms. Simmons pled guilty in March 2004 to two felonies and admitted that she had stolen the money to support her gambling addiction. The Attorney General’s Office prosecuted this case.