Star Tribune
Woman stole $3.75M from Lewiston chemical firm while falling for online relationship scam
A 61-year-old woman stole more than $3.75 million from her Rochester-area employer while she was being financially exploited in what she thought was an online relationship with a man, according to charges.
Sharon A. Schmalzriedt, of Wabasha, Minn., was charged in Wabasha County District Court last week with felony theft in connection with the nearly 3 1⁄2-year period when she allegedly siphoned large sums of money from the company where she worked as a bookkeeper.
Schmalzriedt also was charged with another felony, financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, stemming from allegations she stole more than $17,000 and gave it to people involved in the scam.
Schmalzriedt was arrested Friday, posted $25,000 bond Tuesday and is due back in court on Jan 3. A message was left with her Wednesday seeking her response to the allegations. Court records do not list an attorney for her.
The name of the company was not disclosed in the criminal complaint. However, the Star Tribune confirmed with company officer Stacy Kreidermacher that the business involved was National Chemicals Inc.
The complaint said she was fired in March for what it called “gross negligence.”
According to the criminal complaint:
Police in Lewiston, where National Chemicals is headquartered, contacted the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) about the suspected embezzlement by Schmalzriedt as she worked from her home.
The company said Schmalzriedt was in charge of payroll, paying vendors and maintaining financial records. The owner hired an outside firm to look into “unexpected losses and inconsistencies” in its financial statements.
The firm made copies of company records before asking Schmalzriedt to provide financial ledgers within two weeks. A review of her work found that she deleted multiple payments from company ledgers, prompting her firing.
A BCA agent discovered payments to businesses and individuals who had no association with the company. From October 2019 until Schmalzriedt was fired, the company’s losses topped $3.75 million.
Schmalzriedt told the agent she was having marital problems and began an online relationship in October 2019 with someone she knew as Erik Lockwood, who claimed he was owed $7 million for work he had done in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
Schmalzriedt said Lockwood told her that he needed U.S. currency to collect what he was owed and that he would repay her.
Schmalzriedt first sent her own money, then company funds to Lockwood and accounts associated with him. Lockwood and someone purporting to be his attorney gave her repeated excuses for the need to keep receiving more money from her.
Star Tribune
Sentencing set for Monday morning for a Minnesota man who was drunk and speeding when he hit a woman’s SUV and killed her.
A man with a history of driving drunk received a four-year term Monday for being intoxicated and speeding when he hit a woman’s SUV on a southern Minnesota highway and killed her.
John R. Deleo, 54, of Lake Crystal, Minn., was sentenced in Brown County District Court after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the crash on Aug. 17, 2023, in New Ulm at Hwy. 68 and S. 15th Street that killed 82-year-old Sharon A. Portner, of New Ulm.
With credit for the two days he was in jail after his arrest, Deleo is expected to serve the first 2⅔ years years of his term in prison and the balance on supervised release.
A week ahead of sentencing, defense attorney James Kuettner asked the court to spare his client prison and put him on probation for up to five years.
Kuettner pointed out in his filing that Deleo stayed at the crash scene and attempted “to aid Portner, and he left [her] side only when directed to by law enforcement.”
The attorney also noted that Deleo has been sober since the crash, and therefore, at a particularly low risk for reoffending.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police arrived to find the two damaged vehicles near 15th and S. Broadway streets. Emergency responders took Portner to New Ulm Medical Center, where she died that day.
ROCHESTER – The defense for Shane Roper, the former state trooper charged for his role in a crash that killed Owatonna teenager Olivia Flores, has asked the court to dismiss eight of the nine charges against him.
In a motion filed Oct. 24, Roper’s attorneys said the state has “failed to meet its burden of offering direct evidence tending to demonstrate that [Roper’s] actions, or negligence, were the proximate cause of death or bodily harm.”
Roper, 32, faces nine criminal charges related to the May 18 crash, including felony charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminal vehicular homicide. Both charges carry maximum sentences of 10 years in jail.
The only charge the defense did not ask to have dismissed is a misdemeanor for careless driving, which carries a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail.
Among the other requests made to the court, Roper’s defense asked for a change of venue outside of Olmsted County, citing the extensive media coverage of the case. The defense said “jury pools have surely been tainted and a fair trial cannot be had” in the county.
Roper’s attorney, Eric Nelson of Halberg Criminal Defense, also argued that any evidence related to Roper’s prior speeding or traffic incidents should be precluded as evidence in the case.
In the five years leading up to the crash, Roper had been disciplined by the State Patrol on four separate occasions for careless or reckless driving, including a February 2019 crash that injured another officer.
District Judge Christa Daily has not responded to the motions. Roper is scheduled to be back in court Nov. 21 for a pretrial settlement conference.
Star Tribune
Who is comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who insulted Puerto Rico at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally?
NEW YORK — Of the nearly 30 speakers who recently warmed up the crowd for Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe got the most attention for racist remarks.
”I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” he said, later including lewd and racist comments about Latinos, Jewish and Black people.
The comments have led to condemnation from Democrats and Puerto Rican celebrities, with Ricky Martin sharing a clip of Hinchcliffe’s set, captioned: “This is what they think of us.”
The Trump campaign took the rare step of distancing itself from Hinchcliffe. ”This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” senior adviser Danielle Alvarez said in a statement.
Here’s what to know about Hinchcliffe, his comedic styling and the response to his Madision Square Garden comments.
Hinchcliffe, raised in Youngstown, Ohio, is a stand-up comedian who specializes in the roast style, in which comedians take the podium to needle a celebrity victim with personal and often tasteless jokes. He has written and appeared on eight Comedy Central Roasts, including ones for Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady.
Even fellow comedians aren’t immune. At the Snoop Dogg roast, Hichcliffe made a joke referencing comedian Luenell, who is Black, being on the Underground Railroad. Of the honoree, he said: ”Snoop, you look like the California Raisin that got hooked on heroin.”
