A former employee of Lawley Automotive Group indicted last month for theft and conspiracy to defraud her employer has been ordered to appear in court April 22 for a pretrial conference in advance of setting a trial date.
Gloria L. Burton of Bisbee is accused of assisting a criminal enterprise in connection to nearly three dozen refund checks issued to Lawley customers. She and her son Charles Richard Burton were indicted by a county grand jury on multiple felonies charges in March.
Court records show Burton, 52, worked for Lawley Automotive for more than a decade, most currently as a title clerk. Part of her duties included issuing checks to customers for refunds of license plate fees.
According to Det. Randy Judd of the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office’s (CCSO) financial crimes unit, Burton was also responsible for trying to locate any customers whose check was returned undeliverable. The detective was assigned to the case Feb. 19 after Lawley officials provided him several documents related to the refund checks.
“If she is unable to get the checks delivered to the customers, she is to mark the checks “VOID” and put them in the original deal file,” Judd noted in a statement filed with the court.
Court documents show five refund checks intended for Lawley customers were allegedly altered and cashed by five different people in February 2020 resulting in a loss to the company of more than $3,100. Detectives obtained a search warrant for Gloria Burton’s bank records as part of their initial investigation.
Then on Feb. 27, Burton was detained by deputies at her office before being transported to the sheriff’s office in Sierra Vista.
“She requested a lawyer and would not give the code or pattern to open her phone,” Judd noted, adding that investigators then obtained a search warrant for Burton’s house and her vehicle.
While searching the residence, detectives encountered Burton’s son Charles, 31, who was on probation for a conviction in Missouri.
“Charles told deputies he was the sole occupant of the room he was staying in,” Judd noted. “Charles told deputies he had just smoked marijuana and shot up with meth prior to their arrival.”
But evidence of Charles Burton’s drug use wasn’t the only thing deputies found. More than 30 Lawley Automotive Group checks were discovered under the mattress in Charles’ room.
“Most appeared to be the same kind of checks as the others (refunds/credit checks for small amounts) but did not appear to have been modified yet,” Judd noted. “In a post-Miranda statement, Charles denied having anything to do with the checks.”
However, Charles Burton subsequently told investigators he took the checks from a desk drawer at Lawley Honda. He then utilized a mobile banking app to deposit a $325 check in his mother’s bank account. The check was purportedly endorsed by his mother, according to Judd, although the son insisted he was the one who changed the names on the checks.
Deputies had Charles Burton transported to a hospital for medical clearance needed to book him into the county jail where he remains in lieu of $20,000 bail. Charles is represented by defense attorney David Wilkison under a contract with Cochise County.
Meanwhile, Gloria Burton posted a $20,000 bond to secure her pretrial release. She is represented by Tucson-based attorney Ivan Abrams. The financial crimes are being prosecuted by Deputy County Attorney Michael Powell.
Court records show two of the five forged Lawley checks were purportedly cashed in Missouri, where Charles Burton lived before moving to Bisbee. Arizona Daily Independent is not naming the two Missouri suspects as they have not been charged with a crime. Both of the checks sent to Missouri were for $656.49.
Also charged in connection with the alleged check cashing scam are Benjamin Conrow and Teresa Ann Marie Mock, both 30, who are charged with cashing a $568.27 check and $958.49 check, respectively. Each appeared in court April 6 for arraignment on charges of forgery and money laundering. No court date has been set.
However, Gloria Burton was also recently indicted on one felony drug charge related to drug paraphernalia -specifically syringes- found in her home in June 2019.
Co-defendants in Burton’s drug case are Rhiannon Burton and Nicholas Brown.
Rhiannon, 25, has not yet been served with the indictment, while Brown, 24, is the subject of an arrest warrant issued last month when he failed to appear for arraignment. If Brown is taken into custody, he must post a $10, 000 surety bond to secure his release pending trial.
On March 24, the county attorney’s office filed a restitution lien against Gloria Burton’s 401K account which had an estimated value of $2,800.