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White Collar Crime Atop Beech: Newland Woman Embezzles $650,000 from Beech Mountain Realtor

Kristy Hoilman

By Jesse Wood

Oct. 1, 2012. Over a period of several years, Kristy Hoilman of Newland embezzled “in the ballpark” of $650,000 from Holland Realty and Construction, according to Beech Mountain Police Department Capt. Jerry Sturbyfill.

Hoilman is on the Watauga County criminal court’s docket for three Class C felonies of embezzlement in excess of $100,000 on Oct. 8; although Sturbyfill said the court case will be ongoing as the indictment process hasn’t begun.

The date of offense on court records is listed as April 2, 2007. Prior to that, though, Hoilman worked for Holland Realty and Construction for six to seven years during which numerous thefts occurred.

“She worked for [Holland Realty and Construction] on Beech, and the gentlemen who ran the office discovered that he was quickly running out of money,” Sturbyfill said, adding that the police department “had a CPA do a forensic accounting of the books.”

Sturbyfill, who was away from his notes of the case, said that the $650,000 estimate is the amount that can be verified, but it could “potentially be more than that.”

The reason the case is so old is because Hoilman met with the victim Verne Holland of Holland Realty and Construction after the fraud came to light. She admitted to stealing the money, apologized and agreed to start paying back the money but to no avail.

“She had ample opportunity to pay back,” Sturbyfill said, “so [Holland] eventually had no choice but to file charges.”

Hoilman, 41, was arrested on December 2, 2011, with a $150,000 bond. Judge Greg Horne then lowered the bond to $10,000 at the request of Hoilman’s council Shannon Aldous, and Hoilman posted bond and was released four days later.