She was accused of embezzling from NASCAR Series champion. Here’s what a jury decided
A jury acquitted a woman on all charges after she was accused of stealing more than $30,000 from her former employer, local NASCAR racing champion Ron Eaton.
Terrie Ann Hopkins, 58, was charged in March 2022 with embezzling from Eaton and one of his businesses when she was his bookkeeper. She was acquitted of first-degree identity theft, first-degree theft and money laundering on Aug. 22 in Pierce County Superior Court.
Eaton, 78, is from Tacoma and was a three-time champion of NASCAR’s now-folded Northwest Series, in 1986, 1988 and 1995. The former racer is also a businessman who owns several auto-body shops and a real estate business, according to a previous News Tribune article.
Hopkins’ jury trial began on Aug. 9. She pleaded not guilty during her arraignment in March and was released on her personal recognizance.
According to charging documents, Hopkins was employed by Eaton from 1990 to 2018. She was accused of stealing about $30,562 from Eaton and his businesses by opening accounts in her employer’s name, forging checks and using a company credit card.
Prosecutors alleged that Hopkins committed the thefts between October 2015 up to the end of her employment. Hopkins was accused of using the funds to pay her bills and personal purchases.
An investigation took place after Lakewood Police Department was contacted by the new bookkeeper who reported the alleged fraud in June 2019.
“Both Ms. Hopkins and I are extremely pleased that the jury, after a two-week trial, unanimously agreed with our position, that each and every transaction, conducted by Ms. Hopkins during the course of her employment with Lakes, was with the permission, consent, and authority of her employer, and that at no time, during the course of her employment, did she act improperly,” said Mark Treyz, Hopkins’ attorney, in a statement to the News Tribune.
