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Charlevoix County Circuit Court Judge Richard M. Pajtas has given claimants until Dec. 14 to inform the court of their damage claims. A court hearing is set for 10 a.m., Dec. 21, when the judge will hear from the victims as to their claims.

Restitution is for the victims who lost money and jobs when Karla Sue Lockman embezzled tens of thousands of dollars from her former employer.

Attorney Fred Gibson who represented Lockman in her embezzlement trial continues his representation through the restitution matter. He said Lockman is seeking a writ to attend the Dec. 21 hearing. She has been incarcerated in a state correctional facility for about a year.

Lockman, who lived in Boyne City, was convicted on Aug. 22, 2006, and sentenced on Sept. 22, 2006. Judge Pajtas exceeded the sentencing guidelines when he ordered her to serve not less than five years and not more than 10 years in prison. The maximum under the guidelines would have resulted in one year in the county jail.

The judge noted at sentencing that Lockman had young children, no previous criminal history, and that there was evidence of mental illness.

But, he said that Lockman's calculated conduct was of "epic proportions," that had created losses for many people and their families in a "wide path of destruction."

Lockman was a closing agent for Northern Preferred Title Company when she embezzled the money during the early months of 2005. Most of the 16 incidents of theft occurred by Lockman's transfer of funds from the company's escrow accounts into her personal account.

She used the embezzled funds to purchase a $250,000 house, automobiles, horses, furniture and other items. She told her husband that she had inherited a sum of money from a relative, according to court testimony.

The title company was informed of the embezzlement when a local bank notified the company of escrow funds deposited into Lockman's personal account.

Judge Pajtas said at the sentencing hearing that the court would liquidate remaining assets for restitution to parties who suffered financial loss.

At least 15 people lost their jobs at Northern Preferred Title Company when the embezzlement brought the business to a halt.

Lockman is appealing her case to the Michigan Court of Appeals.