Ex-HRT workers plead guilty in embezzlement

VIRGINIA BEACH

Two former Hampton Roads Transit employees pleaded guilty Wednesday to embezzling nearly $50,000 in bus and trolley fare.

Karen Y. Watkins, 24, and Latasha Kiana Boyd, 24, took the money - mainly in $1 bills - after picking it up at a trolley station on Parks Avenue, according to the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office and a stipulation of facts filed in the case.

HRT discovered money was missing by comparing electronic data downloaded from the buses at the trolley station and the actual amount of money counted at a Norfolk facility, the stipulation said. Discrepancies were found when Boyd and Watkins were working without a security guard being with them.

On at least one occasion, HRT security personnel saw Boyd and a co-worker drive an HRT money van from the trolley station to a home before arriving at the Norfolk facility, according to the stipulation.

The investigation revealed the two women made frequent deposits of $1 bills into their bank accounts. Boyd, whose 2009 income was $16,850, took $24,414 and Watkins, who earned $18,827, took $23,969, the document said.

Sentencing is scheduled for April.