Former Mountaineer bookkeeper accused of embezzlement

A U.S. District Attorney in West Virginia has accused a former bookkeeper at Mountaineer Casino and Racetrack of allegedly embezzling $1.2 million in money from the track's horsemen's account, according to an indictment released on Monday.

Anita Ambler - also known as Anita Webb - was charged with 42 felonies in the indictment, including 21 counts of mail fraud and 15 counts of wire fraud. The district attorney is seeking restitution for the embezzled funds and could seek a fine of as much as $250,000 on each felony count, the D.A.'s office said. The prosecution is also seeking the forfeiture of a $200,000 property in Virginia that Ambler allegedly purchased with the money.

Prosecutors said Ambler embezzled the funds over a six-year period from 2005 to 2010. The funds were withdrawn from the horsemen's account and deposited into her personal accounts and a business she maintained called Forgotten Farms, the indictment states.

Ambler, 48, is scheduled to appear in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia on Dec. 22, prosecutors said. She was arrested on Friday but was released pending her hearing. She has not yet been assigned legal counsel.

The missing funds were discovered during an audit of the track's accounts after Ambler had stopped working at the racetrack in 2010, prosecutors said.