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GREENSBORO - It will take years for Colonial Tin to recover from losing nearly $1 million embezzled by a longtime employee.

But owner Thomas LaRose hopes that by the end of this year he can at least resume donations to the children's ward at Duke University Medical Center. His company had regularly donated to the hospital until the effects of embezzlement began to take their toll, he said.

The company's former accounts payable clerk, Susan Roseann Smith, 60, pleaded guilty April 17 to embezzling. She'd already received a three-year sentence in federal court in March for not claiming the embezzled money on a tax return.

And on Aug. 19 a jury found her husband, Russell Edward Smith, 60, guilty of one count of obtaining property by false pretense. Three charges ended in a mistrial and all other charges against him were dismissed or the jury found him not guilty.

A judge ordered Susan Smith to serve more than six years in prison and to pay $1 million in restitution. Russell Smith will spend the same amount of time in prison and was ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution.

Colonial Tin's embezzlement case was one of six involving hundreds of thousands of dollars highlighted by the News & Record in April.

Besides Colonial Tin, two other cases have seen some resolution since then.

*Former Wachovia bank employee Beverly Hinson, 47, pleaded guilty June 4 to her role in a $3.4 million check-kiting scheme affecting Wachovia and SunTrust banks. A judge sentenced her to a minimum of six years in prison and ordered her to pay back $469,409.

Hinson, who worked as a teller at several Wachovia branches, certified a number of checks from accounts that did not have sufficient funds, according to investigators. She is one of six people a grand jury indicted in January in the scheme.

*High Point resident William Christopher Thompson, 36, pleaded guilty July 9 to charges of embezzlement and obtaining property by false pretense for taking $240,250 from S.E. Systems. A judge sentenced him to at least 10 months at the Guilford County Prison Farm and five years of supervised probation.

The remaining cases are still pending:

SunTrust/Wachovia

Amount: $3.4 million

Background: SunTrust uncovered the scheme, which included Wachovia branches. Officials say the banks lost money in a check-kiting scam in two ways: by checks drawn on accounts lacking funds and through stop-payments ordered on checks after money had been withdrawn. Charges include embezzlement, obtaining property by false pretense, corporate malfeasance and conspiracy.

Status: A grand jury in January indicted six people: Terrell Leavette Raynor, Beverly Hinson, Derrick Lavon McDow, Tremaine Denise Brown, T.O. Pella Stokes and Jason Stewart. All but Hinson's case are pending.

Thomas Enterprises

Amount: $193,720

Background: Police arrested Greensboro resident Emmett Marcellus Morphis, 41, on Jan. 31 on a charge he embezzled from Thomas Enterprises after having been "entrusted to manage the business," court documents show. The charge stems from a January 1999 incident.

Status: Case pending.

BB&T

Amount: $170,000

Background: Kathy Lynn Marshall, a bank relations specialist, falsified withdrawal slips to take money from accounts, police said. The money was taken between November 2003 and October 2007.

Status: Case pending.

The Towers/Hampshire

Amount: $100,000

Background: Emily Jo Johnson, longtime building manager at the 107-unit condominium complex, is charged with one count of embezzling more than $100,000. Officials accuse Johnson of taking money by opening credit cards in her name with Hampshire as a co-signer from 2002 through 2006.

Status: Case pending.

Contact Jennifer Fernandez at 373-7064 or jennifer.fernandez@news-record.com