POCATELLO — Over a dozen felony grand theft charges have been filed against a 41-year-old Pocatello woman accused of embezzling more than $45,000 from a local rotary club she worked for as an executive secretary for about two years.

Katie Michelle Omundson was issued a summons Tuesday to appear in 6th District Court after Bannock County prosecutors charged her on Sept. 2 with 13 counts of felony grand theft, according to police and court records the Idaho State Journal obtained Friday.

The Rotary Club of Pocatello first notified the public about the embezzlement investigation in a June 30 news release, saying it was working with Pocatello police after discovering a possible misappropriation of funds by "an individual who previously had access to our accounts."

The release did not specify a dollar amount, but according to a detailed police incident report, club president Denis Clijsters told investigators in April that the club's own review had turned up more than $100,000 in suspected losses.

The charges filed against Omundson this month stem from what police describe as a series of 21 cash withdrawals from the club's money market savings account at Citizens Community Bank, court records show.

All of the withdrawals were authorized with a slip signed by Omundson, totaling $45,070 between August 2023 and January 2025, according to the report. Individual withdrawals ranged from just over $1,000 to nearly $7,000 at a time.

The remainder of the club's estimated losses stem from two other sets of transactions that, according to the report, are still under investigation and have not resulted in charges.

Clijsters' original crime report filed online with Pocatello police flagged roughly $20,000 in credit card balance payments the club made to what he described as an "unspecified Apple credit card," and separately noted broader irregularities across the club's business checking, PayPal and Venmo accounts.

Police have opened a second case file to pursue that portion of the investigation, noting it would require more extensive forensic accounting work than the cash-withdrawal case, the report states.

Twelve of the 13 counts filed against Omundson each correspond to a single individual withdrawal, while the 13th count alleges a broader "series of thefts" totaling roughly $7,000 in transactions each valued under $1,000.

The inclusion of that final charge relies on a provision in Idaho law written specifically for cases involving multiple smaller financial crimes, allowing prosecutors to bundle several individual misdemeanor-level thefts into one larger grand theft charge when they're alleged to be part of a continuous scheme.

Idaho law states that as long as the combined value of those smaller thefts exceeds $1,000, prosecutors can charge the whole pattern as a single felony.

The investigation into Omundson began after Clijsters submitted the online fraud report in April, telling police the club held an emergency board meeting when it discovered the missing funds.

In its June release, the club said the possible misappropriation did not involve any active members and that it had since reviewed its financial oversight measures and internal controls.

According to the police report, investigators compared the cash withdrawals at Citizens Community Bank against deposits made into the club's separate business checking account and found the deposits had been broken into smaller amounts that did not match the sums that were withdrawn.

The report states the withdrawals were not part of routine club business, noting that meeting minutes, the club's bylaws and Omundson's own job description made no reference to regular cash withdrawals and specified that club expenses were to be paid by check.

While Omundson had lawful access to the accounts as part of her role, the report states she would have needed authorization from the club's board to make the withdrawals, which Clijsters told police was never given.

Clijsters, who is familiar with Omundson's signature through his work with the club, told police he believed the signatures on the withdrawal slips were hers, according to the report. He also said the account in question was intended to serve as a reserve fund and should not have seen regular withdrawal activity, the report states.

Investigators attempted to interview Omundson in June, but she declined to speak after retaining an attorney, who later informed police Omundson would not provide a voluntary statement or agree to an interview, the report states.

Omundson's attorney, Kyle May of the Pocatello law firm May, Rammell & Wells, filed a notice of appearance and denial of the charges Wednesday, entering a not guilty plea and requesting a jury trial on her behalf, court records show. Omundson has not been taken into custody in connection with the case, according to police and court records.

Omundson is scheduled to appear for an arraignment hearing at the Bannock County Courthouse on Sept. 25.

If convicted of all charges, Omundson no less than 13 years and up to 182 years in prison and a fine of up to $65,000.

When reached Friday evening, Clijsters referred the Journal to the club's June news release and declined to provide further comment, saying he did not want to interfere with the ongoing criminal proceedings.

An attorney at May, Rammell & Wells' office was reached after business hours on Friday, but May did not return a message seeking comment by publication time.