GH woman sentenced for forgery in dental office scam

Wed, May 7, 2008    to del.icio.us

For 20 years, Mary Howe was a trusted employee at Garrison Dental in Spring Lake.

As the office manager for the business, she was in charge of all record keeping and finances.

As of Monday, Howe will never again work in a position that puts her in control of an employer's money — just one part of a sentence the 49-year-old Grand Haven woman received for a forgery charge.

Ottawa County Circuit Judge Calvin Bosman also ordered Howe, 1215 Waverly Ave., to serve three years probation, complete 120 hours of community service in lieu of 90 days in jail, and pay $47,000 in restitution.

According to Garrison Dental owner John Garrison, Howe may have embezzled more than $500,000 from his dental office during her 20-year employment there prior to being terminated on Dec. 19, 2006.

Garrison said a $1,600 credit card bill on his account led to Howe's firing, and opened an investigation by the Spring Lake/Ferrysburg Police Department.

"It's fairly complicated to look at what she's done," Garrison said, calling Howe a "sneak thief."

Garrison took over the dental office, 110 DeWitt Lane, from his father, Edgar Garrison, in 2002. Previously, the younger Garrison was 50 percent owner of the business.

According to Spring Lake/Ferrysburg Police Detective Mike Williams, Howe embezzled money several ways. She used ledgers to record running balances for each patient, but used the computer to show another amount, Williams said. The ledger was only seen by Howe and the patients, while the computer balance — with "a large difference in money" — was seen by staff members and Garrison, according to Williams.

Howe used this to her advantage by charging patients — for instance — $4,500 for braces, but only recording $3,500 in the computer, Williams said. The $4,500 amount was recorded on a ledger, making it appear correct to the patient. The orthodontic work should be a $4,500, leaving Garrison's office shortchanged.

"She about destroyed the business," Garrison said.

Williams said Howe may have also taken cash prior to depositing it in the bank, and used office funds to pay off her personal credit card. Williams said the total amount Howe took over the years is unknown, but was significant.

"It's hard to narrow it down to a certain dollar amount," Williams said. "Once we realized what was taking place, it starts to make sense (that it was a lot of money)."

Howe, who pleaded no contest to the forgery charge on March 24, was ordered by the judge to pay $47,000 in restitution. According to police reports, Howe paid back the $1,600 credit card charge and agreed to pay back $148,000 to the dental office.

Police reports say Howe denied embezzling money from the dental office, but she did not pass a polygraph test. According to the polygraph report, Howe admitted to forging Edgar Garrison's name on checks and receiving payments on patients' accounts after they were paid.

Howe also admitted that the account manipulation had been going on for years, and that she was unable to continue the manipulation because of the overwhelming and complicated "structure" she had established, the polygraph report indicated.

"I was paying her overtime to basically sit here and figure out how she could steal from me and my patients," John Garrison said.

Howe told police that a lack of auditing and oversight of her accounting practices made her deception possible. Throughout her interrogation, Howe insisted she never took money for personal gain, but said she was manipulating accounts to make the business appear financially better, Williams said.

John Garrison said his father was deeply troubled when he realized Howe had been ripping him off for years. The Garrisons plan to file a lawsuit seeking additional restitution.

Patient relationships at the business are improving following revelation of the scam, John Garrison said. He said it's good to see Howe brought to justice.

"She's been actively ripping off a business for years," Garrison said. "That's exactly the type of person we should protect the community from."