Former veterinary clinic manager faces up to 10 years in prison after conviction for embezzling more than $20,000 from Bay Animal Hospital accounts
A Bay City woman has been convicted of embezzling a five-figure sum from the veterinarian clinic she once managed.
The trial of Lindsay R. Everett (also known by the surname Eurich) in Bay County Circuit Court ended Friday, April 10, with jurors finding her guilty of embezzlement by agent or trustee of $20,000 or more. The charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $15,000 or three times the value of what was stolen.
The conviction stems from Everett’s conduct with Bay Animal Hospital, 637 W. Center Road/M-25 in Hampton Township.
Defense attorney Brian H. Jean, of Revolution Law PLC, said he respects the jurors’ decision and their hard work, though he disagrees with their conclusion. He maintains Everett is innocent of wrongdoing.
“Her defense rested on a good-faith claim of right, and the evidence showed this was not a classic, cut-and-dry embezzlement,” Jean said. “The evidence presented at trial reflected the complexities that can arise when business arrangements rely heavily on verbal understandings rather than clear documentation.”
The lesson one should take away from the trial is to get matters in writing, Jean said.
Bay County Assistant Prosecutor Hunter Hill tried the case on the people’s behalf.
“I’m happy with the jury’s verdict and for the victims,” said Bay County Prosecutor Michael P. Kanuszewski. “They’ve waited a long time for this vindication.”
Everett was arraigned on the felony in April 2025. The prosecution in July offered to dismiss it if she pleaded guilty or no contest to a five-year felony count of embezzlement between $1,000 and $20,000. They later offered to dismiss the felony if Everett pleaded to a misdemeanor and agreed to pay restitution and have her bond revoked pending sentencing.
Everett worked as Bay Animal Hospital’s office manager from July 2013 through September 2022. She was responsible for the business’s financials, including paying bills and payroll, according to police reports in court files.
Police began investigating in March 2023 when veterinarian Dr. Steven VanOchten contacted them regarding Everett having embezzled about $25,000. Everett had abruptly resigned in September 2022, after which staff noticed suspicious activity on their business account at Huntington Bank, VanOchten said.
VanOchten provided police with bank statements, showing five suspicious ACH Debit Capital One online payments allegedly made by Everett. The five transactions occurred between July and December 2022 and totaled $25,000, police reports state.
VanOchten and colleague Dr. Bruce Francke provided police with copies of their Capital One statements, having discovered someone withdrew $15,485 from two Visa Elanco prepaid gift cards. The withdrawals were made from ATMs at credit unions throughout Bay and Saginaw counties between August 2022 and January 2023, police reports state.
Investigators telephoned Everett and asked her to come in for an interview. Everett said she’d need to contact a lawyer and thought the issue was already resolved. Police then received a fax from Gower Law stating they were representing Everett.
A few days later, VanOchten gave police five more credit card statements from between March 2021 and June 2022. They showed the five cards began with a cumulative starting balance of $33,418.50 that was reduced to zero, police reports state.
Veterinary staff in January 2024 discovered Everett had never taken out money for her health insurance while handling payroll, to the tune of $8,237.10, police reports state.
Police went on to meet with the clinic’s finance manager in November 2024. She provided them with records showing Everett on July 5, 2022, made a debit Capital One payment for $6,000, the same day Dr. Francke paid that amount. The manager explained Francke’s transaction was normal, while there should not be any such transactions in Everett’s name.
“This would indicate that Everett made a transaction into a personal account,” an officer wrote in his report.
Four subsequent transactions occurred in September, October, November and December, the last three after Everett resigned.
The manager went on to explain Bay Animal Hospital receives rebates from items they purchase, which go toward bills or other needed items. Everett had asked if it was OK to obtain gift cards for the rebates and was given the go-ahead, the manager told police.
Staff later discovered 11 Visa Elanco gift cards were missing and activated between February and December 2022. Whoever activated the cards allegedly took $62,656.13 from them, police reports state.
“Everett would have been the one to access these cards since she was responsible for the finances at the Animal Hospital,” police wrote.
Investigators in December 2024 used a search warrant to obtain Everett’s Capital One account records. They found she had deposited $25,000 into her account between June and December 2022, the funds originating from an account with Bay Animal Hospital’s routing number, police reports state. The records also contained two letters from Capital One to Everett denying her request for a credit increase, reports show.
Everett is free on a personal recognizance bond until Circuit Judge Joseph K. Sheeran sentences her on May 18.
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