Woman charged with embezzling from Fish-Tale
Jody Lynne Lovejoy, a long-time and trusted office manager at Fish Tale Marina at 7225 Estero Boulevard, has been charged with one count of first degree grand theft and one count of first degree fraud after authorities say she embezzled more than $200,000 from the Fort Myers Beach business at Santini Marina Plaza.
After the Lee County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a representative of the Fish Tale Marina in mid-February, an investigation revealed Lovejoy had totalled 81 fraudulent transactions dating as far back as 2003, officials said, adding she deposited a total of $243,772.75 into her personal account, not counting any cash deposits that may have occurred. Detectives arrested Lovejoy, 52, at 9851 Quail Hollow Rd, North Fort Myers, on Wednesday, April 14, and she was booked into the Lee County Jail.
Lovejoy was Fish Tale Marina owner Al Durrett’s “right arm” in the business. She was the accountant, business manager and day-to-day operations manager in Durrett’s absence for 23 years at Fish Tale.
“I was absolutely heartbroken for a 30-day period after the fact,” said Durrett, on Monday. “I think I was sick to my stomach every day, thinking about how this could have happened, why it happened and what made it happen. I still don’t have any answers for that. I think once the police had notified her that she was being investigated for it, it took some of the pressure off of me.”
Due to the nature of the allegation, the long-term embezzlement investigation was assigned to a detective with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Economic Crimes Unit. Case investigators learned the complainant had recently discovered several unauthorized and fraudulent transactions resulting in the loss of several thousand dollars. The owners provided detectives with documentation indicating the transactions included fraudulent checks written to Lovejoy. Investigators learned Lovejoy had daily access to all the accounts used by the business and, as office manager, was responsible for the day-to-day operation of the business.
The owners explained they became aware of the incident when an internal review of their finances was conducted. Initially, they identified more than $12,000 in the form of fraudulent checks written out to Lovejoy.
Durrett said he has yet to fill the vacant position.
“My wife and I are both putting in a lot of extra hours to figure out what we’re going to do the accounting side of our business,” he said. “This is highly a disappointment.”
Lovejoy, who has yet to enter a plea, could not be reached for comment.