An attorney for a former Daily Sun manager accused of theft wants to call top newspaper brass to testify in the case.
A warrant was issued in August for longtime Daily Sun employee Grace Mimm, 43, of Belleview after it was discovered that she had used her administrator access to the company’s Circulation Department computer system to boost her commission by using a “Best Deal in Town” code, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department.
Mimm was taken into custody on the warrant on Aug. 17 in Levy County. She had been terminated from the Daily Sun.
Mimm is being represented by attorney Mark Conan, who last year wrangled a dismissal for a Spanish Springs Town Square restaurant operator who had been accused of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Conan has also represented an MVP trainer arrested in a violent episode at Applebee’s as well as a Villager who had been arrested after using her Volvo as a battering ram.
In a document filed this month in Lake County Court, Conan has announced he wants to call top Villages Media Group executives to the stand, including Publisher Philip Markward, Associate Publisher James Sprung, Financial Director Cindy Bailey and Circulation Director John Gagnon, as well as more than a dozen newspaper employees.
Mimm had been given a verbal warning by Sprung in January 2017 after it was discovered she had manipulated the system for her financial benefit, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department. Mimm was a customer service supervisor and part of her commission came from signing up new customers. In June, another Daily Sun supervisor alerted Sprung that Mimm had again begun manipulating the system.
Sprung told police that during the month of May, Mimm altered 34 accounts earning her $244.80 in fraudulent commissions. In June, she altered 37 accounts earning her $266.40 in fraudulent commissions, according to the arrest affidavit.
Conan later met with Sprung, but was told he could not review the documentation on behalf of his client.
Mimm is facing a felony charge of grand theft. She remains free on bond.
A trial has been set for April 9.
