Woman accused of more thefts from law firm [The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.]

Sept. 28--A former employee of a Rice Lake law firm already facing three felonies related to forging more than $10,000 from the firm in 2012, now faces six more felonies for forging 26 checks several years ago.

Kay L. Gysbers, 64, of Almena has been charged in Barron County Court with five felony counts of forgery and a felony count of theft in a business setting. The charges have a combined maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Her preliminary hearing is Oct. 8 in Barron.

She was charged in February with felony counts of forgery, theft in a business setting and placing foreign objects in edibles, charges that have a combined maximum penalty of 7 1/2 years in prison. She has a court hearing set for Oct. 16 on those charges. She was ordered not to have contact with the Smith & Smith Law Office.

According to court records:

The firm, via an audit of bank records, noticed in August that Gysbers, a legal assistant who worked for the law firm from 2009 until being fire Dec. 29, forged 26 checks totaling $21,817 between Sept. 10, 2009, and July 1, 2010. The checks were all written to Gysbers and she endorsed each check. None of the checks were authorized.

The amounts of the checks ranged from $286 to $1,064. The checks' note section indicated the money was used for health coverage, dues and insurance.

In the February case, a co-worker left her desk for a short time on Dec. 27 and when she returned and drank her coffee, it had a horrible taste and made her lips burn. Reinke suspected Gysbers of putting something in the coffee because the two had been having problems.

Police found a foreign substance in the coffee, but there was no laboratory report in the criminal complaint identifying the substance.

After being fired, company officials said she'd illegally issued seven checks between Sept. 13 and Dec. 14, 2012, totalling $10,312 from a trust account, but later deposited $3,650 into that account.

Checks in the amounts of $2,748 and $389 were issued to Gysbers' mother, while checks of $3,235 and $356 were written to Gysbers' sister. Three checks of $3,232, $356 and $550 were issued to Gysbers.

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