Published: January 9, 2011

http://www2.highlandstoday.com/content/2011/jan/09/LAINSIDO1-woman-charged-with-money-laundering/

SEBRING - A former local business owner is scheduled for arraignment on Jan. 31 on three counts of money laundering.

Melissa White Qualls Lusby, 37, of 137 Theo Lane, Lake Placid, was arrested Dec. 30 on a warrant also charging her with scheming to defraud, grand theft of $100,000 or more and grand theft of $300 or more but less than $5,000.

She was released from the Highlands County Jail the same day under a $76,000 bond.

Records from the HCSO indicate she was booked in as Melissa Jean Qualls.

There was no listing for either Melissa Lusby or Melissa Qualls in the Highlands County phone directory when an attempt was made to seek comment.

The allegations stem from the aftermath of the selling of Lusby's medical transcription business, Transcription Solutions of Sebring (TSS), in July 2006, according to the complaint affidavit.

Lusby and her former husband started the business in 1998 before selling assets like the name and the customers to U-Scribe of Florida.

The suspect and U-Scribe's owner were reportedly signors on a SunTrust Bank account the company used. Lusby used a Highlands Independent Bank account for TSS business, but kept it open to get payments for the sale.

She confirmed that all expected payments totaling $375,000 were received, according to the affidavit. The couple then started a corporation called Qualls Enterprises since the TSS name was sold. Lusby was kept on at a salary to run the business since U-Scribe was owned and operated out of the state.

In September 2009, U-Scribe's owner reportedly discovered company money being diverted to the TSS Highlands Independent account. The funds were customer checks.

"Additionally, deposits were being made to the U-Scribe SunTrust account that included checks from the HIB TSS account," the affidavit stated.

The documents states that between July 2007 and September 2009, Lusby deposited over $1.8 million in U-Scribe receipts into her account.

She then reportedly wrote checks from her account back to U-Scribe and deposited them in the SunTrust account. The amounted was over $1.6 million.

The total amount not returned to U-Scribe was $165,402.48, the affidavit stated.

In a taped statement, Lusby reportedly admitted to diverting the U-Scribe receipts in order to pay her mother for a portion of the sale of the business. She'd planned to replace the money once her next payment for the TSS sale came in.

"However, she continued to redirect U-Scribe customer payments into her TSS Highlands Independent Bank account," the affidavit stated. "She wrote checks from that account to U-Scribe and deposited them to U-Scribe's SunTrust account to repay the money she had diverted."

Lusby estimated that she was approximately $100,000 behind when she left U-Scribe.