A former Belk employee is facing five years of house arrest after pleading guilty to embezzlement.
Rosemarie Elizabeth Prater, 36, of Columbus, was arrested in January after she was accused of embezzling about $45,000 from Belk department store in Columbus when she worked there in 2015.
This week she pleaded guilty to the charge in Lowndes County Circuit Court and was sentenced to 20 years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections to be served through five years of house arrest. She also faces a $2,400 fine and more than $45,000 of restitution to be paid by May 2022.
When Prater was arrested, she worked as a receptionist for the Columbus Municipal School District.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.