Crime & Safety

Updated: Creve Coeur Woman Sentenced to 5 Years For Embezzling $234,000

Karen Page pleaded guilty March 1 to stealing money from her employer over a three-year period.

Updated at 2:40 p.m. with a comment from the president of J. Berg.

Karen Page, who pleaded guilty to embezzling $234,000 as a bookkeeper for an insurance underwriter based in Creve Coeur, was sentenced to five years in prison.

St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. Prebil handed down the sentence Friday. He said it was part of a plea bargain agreement that Page reached with the St. Louis County prosecutor’s office.

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Page, 58, of the 1200 block of Creve Coeur Mill Road in Creve Coeur, pleaded guilty March 1 to a charge of stealing more than $25,000, a class B felony.

Page deposited J. Berg & Associates' funds into her personal checking account by forging her boss’ signature on checks. The thefts, totaling $234,000, occurred over a three-year period beginning June 1, 2009.

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She was taken into custody immediately following the sentencing hearing.

Bob Berg, president of J. Berg & Associates, told Patch that he got no satisfaction from seeing Page go to prison.

"I would have rather seen her get help and pay restitution," Berg said. "But she was a gambling, so she spent all of that money."

Berg said Page's gambling addiction led to the thefts. However, he said the business "is rock solid" and didn't need to have the lost income restored.

Berg emphasized that no client, policy holders or agents were affected by the theft. He said only the company’s bottom line was affected.

Patch was unable to reach Page’s attorney, Henry Miller, for comment following the sentence hearing.

For more crime information on Creve Coeur Patch, see the following information:

  • Creve Coeur Bookkeeper To Be Sentenced In Embezzlement Case Friday


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