Probation, $30,000 in restitution for director who stole lake association funds

The former executive director of the Lake Minnetonka Association was sentenced to four years on probation for swindling thousands of dollars from two of the association’s bank accounts, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Friday.

Hennepin County District Court Judge Lisa Janzen sentenced Melissa Waskiewicz, 42, of Minneapolis, to a stay of imposition of her sentence as long as she follows the conditions of her probation. Those conditions included serving 45 days on electronic home monitoring, 80 hours of community service and paying restitution of $30,500 to the lake association. Judge Janzen also ordered that Waskiewicz pay the restitution in $300 installments every two weeks, beginning Friday afternoon.

Under the terms of the plea agreement and sentence, Waskiewicz pleaded guilty to two counts of felony theft by swindle and the other seven counts of theft by swindle were dismissed. Waskiewicz also must undergo a mental health assessment and follow any recommendations and she may never again hold a job with fiduciary responsibilities.

According to the criminal complaint, an internal audit by the lake association in the late summer of 2016 discovered that Waskiewicz had been writing checks to herself. The money came from the association’s lake vegetation management account and its general bank account. She began writing the checks in December 2014 and continued into August 2016. The checks were written in amounts from $250 to $3,000.

The charges were filed against Waskiewicz in February 2017 and she pleaded guilty in January.

Waskiewicz Criminal Complaint (PDF)