Former CU Teller Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

Stephanie Joyce-Bennett Beauford, a former teller at the $995 million Michigan First Credit Union in Lathrup Village, Mich., pleaded guilty to embezzling $24,000 from a 92-year-old member’s account while she was hospitalized, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said last week.

Beauford had been a teller at Michigan First since 2005.

The credit union fired her after admitting she withdrew the funds from the elderly member’s account.

After paying $4,000 in restitution last week, Beauford pleaded guilty in a state court to one count of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult. The Attorney General’s office said she earlier paid $20,000 in restitution.

The embezzlement was referred to the Attorney General’s office by the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services in early 2018 after a complaint was submitted by the victim’s family.

Beauford is scheduled for a sentence hearing in February.