Havre embezzler ordered to pay $45k back to casinos

A Havre woman was ordered to pay $45,000 in restitution to two local casinos she had stolen from as an employee.

Kyra Lynne Gerber, born in 1988, was ordered Monday in state District Court in Havre to pay $45,530 restitution for two felony counts of theft by embezzlement she pleaded guilty to in September. She will pay $38,890 to Crystal City Casino and $6,640 to Hi-Line Gold Casino.

Gerber also received a five-year deferred imposition of sentence for each embezzlement count. If she abides by the conditions of her sentence she can have the offenses struck from her record.

Investigation of Gerber’s theft started Sept. 19, 2016, after one of the operators of Crystal City Casino and Hi-Line Gold Casino reported to the Havre Police Department that Gerber, an eight-year employee of both casinos, was stealing money.

After an investigation in which officers obtained copies of deposit slips, officers concluded Crystal City Casino was missing $38,890 from the deposit bags, the ATM and the safe, and Hi-Line Gold Casino was missing a total of $6,640 from deposit bags and the ATM. The total amount missing was $45,530 beginning Aug. 14.

Gerber wrote the operators of the casino a letter “begging them not to notify the police of the thefts,” court charging documents say.

“Gerber’s letter stated she took the money because she had outstanding medical bills and was trying to keep a roof over her children’s heads,” the documents say.