HAWLEY, WAYNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The former treasurer for Milestone Estates Property Owners Association (POA) in Wayne County, was arrested and charged with allegedly stealing over $29,000 in expenditures between 2016-2022.
On Friday, Wayne County District Attorney A. G. Howell announced the arrest of Sun Kim Lenau, 61, of Hawley, Wayne County. Lenau was charged with one count of Theft By Unlawful Taking, a 3rd-degree felony for the theft of $29,133.44.
According to the police affidavit the Milestone Estates POA usually meets in April of every year. However, officials say due to COVID, there were no meetings held between April 27, 2019, and May 7, 2022.
Law enforcement said at the meeting held on May 7, 2022, a financial report dated April 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022, was presented to POA board members, with many discrepancies on it.
The affidavit states, due to the number of discrepancies, motions were filed and passed to not accept the financial report and to have an outside audit done of the treasurer’s books going back four years.
Police say, four of the five POA board members, including Lenau, resigned when they were pressured on the accounting books, and at the end of the meeting, a new board was elected.
As the affidavit reads, The new POA President contacted Lenau to get all of the POA documents turned over. However, Lenau didn’t have any bank statements or receipts and gave a revised bank register that only showed deposits and a few payments from 2022.
According to law enforcement, the records were examined and between 2018 and 2022 there were several $200 cash withdrawals made by Lenau totaling $9,700. Most of these were questionable and listed very little information as to what they were for, court papers say.
The affidavit states on January 5, 2023, Lenau was interviewed by law enforcement and said the only invoices or receipts she kept were the ones she turned in when she resigned.
Investigators say when Lenau was asked why there were so many debit withdrawals for $200, she said $200 was the daily limit that she could withdraw. There was no specific reason as to why her accounting was so poorly kept, other than to say she was not qualified to do the job in the first place, police say.
As the affidavit reads Lenau acknowledged how suspicious her vague explanations and the many $200 withdrawals looked and on February 8, officers met with the newly appointed Milestone Estate POA Treasurer Charles Taft and POA President Jeffrey Radway.
Accoridng to police Radway completed an audit of the POA expenses from 2016 through 2022 and provided several documents listing all transactions that were unaccounted for by Sun Lenau. Once reviewed police say they determined Lenau made a total of $29,133.44 in questionable and suspicious transactions between 2016 and 2022.
Lenau was arrested and brought before Magisterial District Judge Carney to be arraigned and bail was set at $10,000 unsecured, which Lenau posted and was then released.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, March 15 at 9:00 am at the county courthouse in Honesdale.
