CEDAR CITY — A Cedar City woman will be required to pay back $151,475 and spend time in jail after admitting to taking cash payments made for building payments in Iron County.
Chelsea Boxwell, 43, pleaded guilty to misusing public money, a second-degree felony, on Feb. 12. She was sentenced last week to 270 days in jail, three years of probation and 100 hours of community service.
Fifth District Judge John Walton ordered Boxwell to begin her jail term no later than Monday, and to pay back the money in payments of at least $500 a month beginning soon after she is released from jail. At that rate, it will take her 25 years to pay back the full amount to the county.
Charging documents said an anonymous letter to the Iron County Auditor's Office encouraged someone to look at how cash payments are handled in the building department, and when questioned, Boxwell said she had taken some of the money and spent it on bills and child expenses.
When questioned, the woman also admitted she took money from Iron Springs Property Management, which she worked for part-time, by writing checks to herself.
In a case related to those checks, Boxwell pleaded guilty to theft, a second-degree felony. In that case she was also ordered to serve a 270-day jail sentence and perform 100 hours of community service, but those can be done concurrent with her other sentence.
She was ordered to pay back $115,000 she admitted to taking to the property management company.
Boxwell was sentenced to one to 15 years in prison for both of the felony convictions, but those terms were suspended if she meets certain conditions.
