Charges: Man Stole Nearly $120,000 From Child's College Fund
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 34-year-old Apple Valley man is accused of stealing nearly $120,000 from the college fund of a child in his care.
Roy Bester is charged with two counts of theft over $5,000 and two counts of theft by temporary control, court documents filed in Dakota County show.
According to a criminal complaint, someone reported last November that Bester was removing money from the college fund of a child over which Bester was the guardian.
When speaking with officers, Bester acknowledged that the child had a college account. He said that all the money he took from the account was used on the child, which he described as "expensive."
Search warrants executed on Bester's accounts showed that he had started transferring funds from the child's account to his account in 2011 and continued until 2015.
In less than four years, Bester had used up all of the money in the child's account – a total of $118,009.
Witnesses said that Bester used some of the money to allegedly buy a car for the child, who is not old enough to drive. His account also showed he took out a $8,500 loan on a boat.
If convicted of all the theft charges, Bester faces the possibility of decades in prison.
Bester is summoned to appear in court on Aug. 22.