OCONTO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Former Gillett Mayor James Beaton faces 13 theft charges for allegedly stealing more than $125,000 from his former employer.
No initial court date has been scheduled, court records show.
Beaton, 39, departed as mayor effective Oct. 3, according to city records. The charges include allegations while he was in office.
According to the criminal complaint, Beaton worked for Legacy Funeral Home. The business suspected he was embezzling from it.
Beaton allegedly sold a vehicle without the funeral home’s consent, issued checks to himself, obtained convenience store credit cards for him and his family for personal use, and used credit cards for personal use.
The complaint charges one count of theft for allegedly selling the hearse, plus one count of in a business setting for each of 12 different time periods:
- 9/14/17 to 10/31/17 $12,967.73
- 11/15/17 to 2/27/18 $10, 925.56
- 3/2/18 to 4/2/18 $14,500.00
- 4/3/18 to 6/5/18 $11,256.55
- 6/5/18 to 7/2/18 $12,449.97
- 7/10/18 to 9/27/18 $15,759.10
- 9/28/18 to 11/2/18 $12,180.15
- 11/19/18 to 3/25/19 $10, 868.75
- 3/29/19 to 5/6/19 $12,665.18
- 5/17/19 to 8/26/19 $11,279.55
- 8/26/19 to 9/3/19 $7,374.94
The complaint does not contain any comments from Beaton.
