GAMBRILLS, Md. — Anne Arundel County State's Attorney, Anne Colt Leitess, announced on Tuesday that 48-year-old Kimberly R. Champagne has accepted a guilty plea for her involvement in unauthorized purchases with the Waugh Chapel Swim Club's credit card.
Champagne is now charged with one count of a felony theft scheme, was sentenced to five years, suspended all but 90 days in jail, and ordered to pay restitution of $11,880 to the club.
In March 2018, the Anne Arundel County Police Department was contacted after the club's new treasurer had uncovered evidence that Champagne, the club's dive instructor, had been using the club's credit card to make personal purchases.
The credit card was only supposed to be used for purposes as the dive team representative, or to otherwise serve the membership. A joint investigation by the Anne Arundel County Police Department and the Office of the State's Attorney for Anne Arundel County uncovered that between June 2016 and December 2017, Champagne purchased more than 480 items from Amazon.
Those items purchased included: clothing, makeup, hair products, Christmas decorations, children's toys and clothing, pet beds and food, computer tablets, jewelry, baby items, groceries, a vacuum, outdoor landscape lighting, small furniture and sports equipment.
According to police, the total loss was estimated to be around $11,880.
