A 40-year-old Ortonville mother is facing up to 10 years in prison after several months of investigation found she allegedly stole thousands of dollars from an Oxford gym’s parent club.
Cheryl Ann Zardus was arraigned on a felony charge of embezzlement more than $20,000 on Aug. 21. She is currently out on bond.
Oakland County Sheriff’s Office detectives have been investigating Zardus since March, after a complaint was filed by the Elite Gym Starz Parent Club and Elite Gymnastics Owner Jeni Ochoa.
Zardus was treasurer of the club since about 2001, says Ochoa, and as such, took care of an account that held money that had been raised by 80 families to pay meet fees.
The parent club contacted police March 28 after several checks bounced.
‘She has been doing this for several years and it has cost the parent club several thousand dollars,? said Detective Kevin McNally of the Oxford substation. ‘We’re still investigating how much was actually taken.
It’s substantially more than $20,000… The account was completely drained. She used the money for bills and for extras, at restaurants and retail stores, all for personal use.?
Parents pay anywhere from $850-$1,250 per child per year for meet fees, Ochoa said.
According to police reports, the thefts began in 2005, when Zardus opened an account then immediately channeled funds into it from the parents? club account, accessing money by establishing a debit card. She also allegedly wrote checks to herself from the account.
Zardus later admitted to McNally that she did this to cover personal expenses due to a divorce she was going through. She is currently separated from her husband and has four children.
‘Divorce doesn’t give you a license to steal other people’s money,? said Ochoa. ‘I’ve lost business, staff… The people here want justice done. It affected so many people, her children, my child, people in the club and their families. She’s a dream crusher.?
Also in 2005, Zardus was convicted of forgery in federal court in Detroit for an unrelated incident, but through a plea agreement entered a diversion program.
Ochoa said there was never supposed to be a debit card for the parent club account and there were supposed to be dual signatures. Zardus forged the signature of Parent Club Secretary Teresa Terrian and also told her that her signature was no longer needed.
‘I am just flabbergasted,? said Terrian. ‘I would have never thought she would be the one to do this kind of thing. It has been such a hassle and so stressful and I see her so unremorseful and I am stressed, losing friends and going through so much that is emotional and I don’t see her going through any of that. It has really been horrible.?
Ochoa agrees and feels a deep betrayal, particularly because Zardus? daughter was the first child enrolled at Elite when it opened.
‘Our families were close, we took long weekends together,? she said. ‘It was an awesome friendship, I thought. I’ve never experienced such an ultimate betrayal in my life… I feel like I’ve let my people down.?
Ochoa says she feels embarrassed for what Zardus has done. Elite also owes money to several gyms from Zardus? actions, but Ochoa says this will never happen again, because although it is standard procedure for accounts to be set up with parents clubs, all money for meet fees will now be put in the gym’s account, not in parents? hands.
Terrian is staying with Elite and just wants to see justice done.
‘I know she has kids, but she should have thought about her kids and how it would affect them when she started doing this,? she said. ‘She wasn’t thinking about them, obviously. She needs to be stopped from doing this again. Unfortunately, the kids are an afterthought in her mind. I know if we’re patient it will work out and the system will do what it needs to do.?
A preliminary exam conference for Zardus is scheduled for 8:30 a.m., Aug. 27, in front of 52-3 District Court Judge Lisa Asadoorian.