Bellevue Reporter, July 05, 2013

Page 1

BELLEVUE

REPORTER

NEWSLINE 425-453-4270

ARTS FAIR RETURNS | BAM Arts Fair celebrates 67 years [15]

Business | Recent grads proving old axiom true with apple-based business [7]

FRIDAY, JULY 5, 2013

Sports | Bellevue College tennis player finishes unbeaten season without dropping a single set [12]

Former travel agent sentenced

Summer cool down

A former Bellevue travel agent who used her access to clients’ credit card numbers and mileage plan awards to steal cash, travel and tickets worth more than $300,000 was sentenced Thursday, June 27 by U. S. District Judge James L. Robart to 24 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Karen Yeakel, 64, was ordered to pay $339,242 to those she defrauded and to her employer who incurred thousands of dollars investigating the embezzlement. According to records filed in the case, between 2005 and 2011, Yeakel used her close relationship with some of her clients to steal their money and their miles. In some instances, Yeakel would use their credit card accounts to charge airplane tickets to Hawaii or Mexico and then would resell the tickets as “travel vouchers” at a discount to other clients, pocketing the cash. She put more than $180,000 in fraudulent charges on the clients’ credit cards. The other prong of the scheme involved using clients’ miles to book her own travel or travel for her family members. Yeakel booked more than 152 flights for family members using other people’s frequent flyer miles. When clients wanted to use their miles, Yeakel claimed no mileage seats were available, when in fact she had simply drained the miles from the accounts. The value of the miles is estimated at more than $132,000. Yeakel pleaded guilty Jan. 28, 2013. Writing to the court, prosecutors described how Yeakel betrayed clients with her scheme, many of whom were close friends. “Year after year, month after month, day after day, defendant Yeakel misused credit card and airline mile accounts her clients had entrusted to her. During this lengthy period, defendant Yeakel led her clients to believe that she was acting in their best interests, when in fact, she was embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from them to support her own lifestyle,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo. The case was investigated by the Bellevue Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Arnold.

A group of kids plays at the Crossroads Park spray area on Tuesday, July 2. With temperatures reaching the 90s early in the week, the park was a popular spot. JOSH SUMAN, Bellevue Reporter

Inquest ordered in fatal Bellevue SWAT shooting An inquest has been ordered into the shooting death of Columbia City resident, Russell Smith, by Bellevue SWAT. Smith was fatally shot in his vehicle near 43rd Avenue South and South Hudson Street when Bellevue Police attempted to serve a warrant for a series of robberies he was suspected of in both cities.

An official statement by the Bellevue Police department reported that in the early hours of Mar. 22, Smith rear-ended a parked truck behind him, before switching gears. Three officers opened fire, fearing that he would run them over. On Tuesday, June 2 King County Executive Dow Constantine ordered the inquest, per the suggestion

of King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg who reviewed materials in the Seattle Police Department investigation. The order would result in a fact-finding hearing, conducted before a six-member jury. Such hearings are routine when a member of law enforcement is involved in any death on the job.

On the Hyatt Courtyard

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The Art of


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