By Jordan Wilcox
Assistant Publisher
In March 2024, 33-year-old Danielle Taylor was convicted of embezzling nearly $30,000 from Clark Logic, a multi-faceted company with a significant presence and origins in Three Rivers.
Taylor would take in customers’ credit cards and instead of paying their invoices, she’d fraudulently pay her own expenses.
According to court records, she successfully stole $28,461 from customers and attempted an additional 63 charges, worth $129,113.
Now, only a year after her last conviction, she’s once again in the hot seat for embezzlement. – This time at Paw Paw Public Schools.
On Monday, March 10, Taylor was charged with one count of identity theft and one count of financial transaction device steal/retain.
The arraignment comes after Child Care Resources sent a fraud complaint to the Portage Police Department in November, reporting several unauthorized transactions from their bank account.
According to Van Buren County Sheriff, Daniel Abbott, a detailed financial investigation revealed that those charges were in excess of $27,000, and used to pay Taylor’s bills, now 34 and living in Lawrence.
She got ahold of Child Care Resources banking information while previously employed as a secretary at Paw Paw Public Schools’s Cedar Street Center.
Part of her job involved opening mail, which sometimes contained checks. Sheriff Abbott said she was then able to obtain the checking account and routing numbers and made several online transactions to allegedly pay for her vehicle insurance and mortgage.
When detectives spoke with Taylor, she confirmed that she worked for Paw Paw Public Schools’s Cedar Street location and that her duties included sorting mail, which often required her to open envelopes containing checks.
Paw Public Schools Superintendent, Jeremy Davison, had this to say about this situation when asked by WWMT News Channel 3:
“Paw Paw Public Schools has become aware that a former District employee has been arrested in an ongoing criminal investigation. The District can confirm that the employee was employed by the District from August 2023 until April 2024.”
“As is our standard practice for all new employees and consistent with the Michigan Revised School Code, the employee underwent fingerprinting and a criminal background check prior to her employment.”
“At the time of her hiring, no allegations had been made against her by her previous employer. The employee resigned from her position with Paw Paw Public Schools in April 2024 and has had no connection with the District since April 2024.”
“The safety, integrity, and well-being of our students, staff, and community remain our top priorities. We remain committed to upholding rigorous hiring and review processes to maintain trust within our school community.”
“If there are any further developments concerning this matter, the school community will be updated.”
As of Monday, Taylor has a probable cause conference scheduled for March 19, followed by a preliminary hearing on March 25. Her bond was set at $10,000 cash/surety.
A judge ruled that if convicted, she could face up to nine years in prison and $30,000 in fines.
