Former Salem court clerk indicted, arraigned for embezzling bail funds

A former Assistant Clerk Magistrate at Salem District Court is accused of stealing bail money she collected and using it for herself according to the Attorney General s Office The Attorney General s Office released Tuesday that an Essex Grand Jury has returned indictments against Michelle Bowman of Danvers on charges relating to misuing more than in bail funds and forging a form to conceal her actions while she served as a bail magistrate and an Assistant Clerk Magistrate in Salem District Court We ve been analyzing for particular time now and obviously we take assertions of embezzlement quite seriously especially when done by citizens authorities reported Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell In May while trying to process a bail forfeiture Lawrence District Court staff broadcasted they realized that in bail funds had never been received by the court and were missing When the missing bail came to light the Attorney General s Office s mentioned Bowman submitted a forged recognizance form to the court for the missing funds altering dates to make it appear as though the bail was received more of late that it had been After reviewing Bowman s financial records investigators discovered several withdrawals taken from her bail bank account which appeared to be for personal use according to the Attorney General s Office The withdrawals were ascertained to be more than in payments to American Express more than in payments to her landlord and more than in cash withdrawals Investigators believe she did so likely because she was in debt They also discovered Bowman took trips to Las Vegas Barbados and Aruba and spent money on jewelry designer perfume luxury clothing and event tickets during the relevant timeframe There is an expectation Not only do you continue to build trust with the people we serve but there s an expectation you deliver services to folks without fraud attached mentioned Campbell Bowman is charged with Fiduciary Embezzlement and Unwarranted Privilege for her misuse of bail funds and Forgery and Uttering for creating and submitting a false recognizance form She was arraigned Tuesday in Essex Superior Court and ordered to turn over her passport She is due back in court on December