STILLWATER — A former Stillwater accountant was ordered Monday to stand trial on a felony charge accusing him of embezzling $180,000 from two local firms within a four-month period.
Mark Alan Whetstine, 44, who now lives in Edmond, remains free on $12,500 bail pending his arraignment in trial court on July 7 before District Judge Donald Worthington.
In court Monday, Whetstine waived his right to a preliminary hearing on the embezzlement charge, which carries a maximum penalty of a 10-year prison term and a $10,000 fine, in addition to an order to pay restitution, on conviction.
According to an affidavit by Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Agent Tommy L. Johnson, Whetstine said he got into financial trouble after losing $80,000 to $100,000 at a casino near Perkins.
Whetstine had provided accounting services for about 20 years to Larry Allen Plank, owner of Credit Bureau Services Association and Woodland Outsourcing LLC, from which $180,000 was embezzled between Dec. 31, 2005, and April 28, 2006, the affidavit alleges.
Whetstine is alleged to have issued checks payable to himself, to a clinic for his medical bills, to credit card companies for his personal accounts, to a lender for his monthly mortgage payments and to a company for his car insurance premiums, according to the affidavit.
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