BRECKENRIDGE — The former CEO of the Summit Association of Realtors was back in the Summit County Jail this week.
On Monday, sheriff’s deputies arrested Sue Frank on a no-bond warrant. Frank is suspected of embezzling more than $415,000 from her former employer.
The district attorney’s office filed a request to have Frank’s initial $15,000 bond revoked when investigators identified continuing steps taken after she bonded out to prevent the tracing and return of the stolen funds, a portion of which is currently outside of the United States.
At a hearing Tuesday, Frank was made aware of pending charges against her that include one count of theft of $100,000 to $1,000,000, seven counts of identity theft, seven counts of forgery and seven counts of criminal impersonation.
A new bond of $250,000 was set at the Tuesday hearing. Frank’s passport was previously seized because she is a potential flight risk.
Frank is due to appear in court Jan. 5 for a hearing before a district court judge.
According to the arrest affidavit, Frank is accused to stealing more than $415,000 from the realty association, a not-for-profit she has led for nearly 20 years, by forging checks and making unauthorized fund transfers.
She has declined to comment on the charges.
Earlier this month, Andrew Biggin, a member of SAR’s board of directors and a past SAR president, told police he had recently discovered Frank had forged his signature on three checks totaling $232,000.
On Nov. 11, 18 and 28, Frank deposited checks in the amounts of $58,000, $78,000 and $96,000, respectively, into her personal account at FirstBank in Breckenridge, according to the arrest affidavit.
Biggin later learned from bank employees that she had also deposited into her account checks on June 17, July 25, Aug. 11 and Oct. 29, totaling more than $183,000. Biggin was first alerted to the suspicious bank transactions by the association’s president, who said Frank had recently transferred $100,000 with authorization from the association’s Edward Jones account into her own personal account at FirstBank.
Biggin told police he recognized Frank’s signature on the endorsement line. He said the memo on the checks said the funds were for personal or short-term loans. However, Biggin said SAR does not make loans. Additionally, he told police the signature on the checks appeared to be similar to his but was not.
On Dec. 2, Frank was booked into the Summit County jail at around 5:45 p.m. She bonded out later that evening. The bond had been set at $15,000 and stipulated that she not leave the state.
