CENTREVILLE, Mich. — Angela Vanderstraaten, 46, a former teller at Omni Community Credit Union, has been sentenced to two to 20 years in prison by Judge Paul Stutesman in St. Joseph County Circuit Court.
Vanderstraaten pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $100,000 from member accounts.
According to the Sturgis Journal, the credit union’s risk management department reported the thefts to Colon Police Sgt. Benjamin Clearwater, who brought in Michigan State Police Fraud investigators.
Investigators said they found Vanderstraaten stole cash from numerous accounts between May 2023 and January 2025, when she was fired, the Sturgis Journal reported. She was also ordered her to pay $227,436 in restitution.
Unauthorized Withdrawals
According to investigators, Vanderstraaten made unauthorized withdrawals and created digital receipts without member signatures. Surveillance footage showed her alone at the teller station during most transactions, according to police.
Court documents show she confessed and explained how she hid the cash from security cameras, the Journal reported.
Omni Credit Union discovered the losses during an internal review and later reimbursed affected members, including one member who lost nearly $50,000 in a single account.
The report added that VanderStraaten lost a partial-term board of education seat at Colon Community Schools to Tim Trattles by 18 votes in November 2024.
