Crystal Lynette Fulford (OTCDF)
Perham, MN – On Monday (October 7th), 63-year-old Crystal Lynette Fulford of Perham was sentenced to 5 years of probation after pleading guilty to Theft by Swindle back in August.
According to court documents, an employee of a business that sold pull-tab informed Otter Tail County officials that Fulford had admitted to stealing cash from the pull-tab games. Fulford was a runner for the company, so her job was to work with businesses that sold pull-tabs and electronic tabs (E-tabs) by exchanging out pull-tab games with new ones. This involved collecting the cash profits and the used games, depositing the cash to the bank and turning in the used games to the gaming manager.
Fulford reportedly gave the other employee a handwritten list of 30 games that she had put in various establishment and had not deposited the cash profits or turned in the used games. According to the list, Fulford had taken at least $37,487 in cash. Following the report, the state gambling board conducted an audit that indicated that over $62,000 was missing from the pull-tabs and E-tabs across 2 locations.
When officers spoke with Fulford, she said that she would take from the pull-tab games with the intent on paying them back when she got paid, however she didn’t have enough money in her bank account, so she would take more. She also said that she would hide the used games under her bed, since she never made the deposits on them.
Fulford and Otter Tail County prosecutors made a plea agreement back in August, where she would plead guilty to the charge of Theft by Swindle in exchange for a lesser sentence.
In court on Monday, Fulford was sentenced to be monitored by the Minnesota Department of Corrections for 5 years and pay restitution. In Minnesota, the charge of Theft by Swindle of property with a value of more than $35,000 has a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.