Former Lenoir employee accused of stealing $100k

LENOIR, N.C. (AP) - A former city of Lenoir employee has been charged with embezzling more than $100,000.

Forty-eight-year-old Sherry Lynn Phillips Nichols of Lenoir has been charged with one felony count of larceny by an employee in excess of $100,000.

Lenoir police say Nichols was charged after officers received a report about an employee stealing money.

She had worked as a customer service representative at Blue Ridge Cemetery in Lenoir. The money was stolen from sales at the cemetery.

Capt. Couby Stilwell says the embezzlement occurred over about a year and a half. Stilwell says Nichols had been an employee of the city since 2005.

It was not clear if she has an attorney. Nichols is to appear in Caldwell County District Court on Monday.

Police say no customer who bought a plot in the cemetery has lost money.

“The only victim here is the city,” Stilwell said.

The city is honoring all sales of cemetery plots, he said.