Latest news with #Lovitt
West Australian
27-05-2025
- General
- West Australian
Post-WWII ship passengers honoured during Southern Forests heritage festival
The stories of nearly 8000 displaced people and refugees who arrived in Australia aboard a ship after World War II were presented in Bridgetown as part of the Southern Forests and Valleys Heritage Festival. Many of the passengers from the Anna Salen ship settled in the Warren Blackwood region in the early 1950s, with close to 10,000 people migrating via the ship to Australia. Greenbushes Discovery Centre chair Amanda Lovitt presented a talk on the Anna Salen immigrants to Australia to honour her father, and other passengers. The presentation was a culmination of her research on post-WWII refugees to Australia, with her father arriving in 1950 from Czechoslovakia. Ms Lovitt said her father Peter Haas, born in 1928, arrived in Australia on December 31. He soon married and had children in the region. Proud of her heritage, Ms Lovitt said when she became a justice of the peace she began carrying the Bible her dad was presented when he received Australian citizenship. 'There is much written on descendants of survivors of the Holocaust and many of those align with the generational trauma of First Nations,' Ms Lovitt said. 'I wanted to honour my Dad. He had a hard life, and I wanted to tell the stories of his fellow passengers on the ship that arrived 31st December, 1950. 'Personally, I feel I have honoured my Dad's memory and realised that while his life was hard, so were the lives of so many of these people. 'They all played their part in modern multicultural life in Australia. Some used their struggles to succeed in many aspects. Some fell and took their lives or had criminal offences.' Ms Lovitt spoke earlier this month as part of the heritage festival. Lifeline: 13 11 14
Miami Herald
27-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Sisters spend over $844K on FL company credit cards in yearslong scheme, feds say
A federal judge sentenced two sisters from Northwest Florida to prison over a yearslong embezzlement scheme in which they stole more than $844,000 from their employer using company credit cards, prosecutors said. As an office manager for a locally owned Pensacola business, Kimberly Lovitt and her sister, Amy Williams, the company's receptionist, were allowed to use the company's credit cards to buy office supplies, according to court documents. But from early 2016 through 2021, the sisters charged hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal expenses to the cards, court documents say. Now Lovitt, 52, of Pace, has been sentenced to three years in prison, and Williams, 46, of Milton, has been sentenced to one year and six months in prison on charges of wire fraud, money laundering and filing false tax returns, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida said in a May 23 news release. Pace and Milton are located in Santa Rosa County, about a 40-mile drive northeast from Pensacola. Lovitt and Williams previously pleaded guilty in the case, court records show. Williams' defense attorney, Jack Wilkins, referred McClatchy News on May 27 to the sentencing memorandum he filed on her behalf when contacted for comment. 'Williams has acknowledged her culpability and taken responsibility for her crime and harm she has caused,' Wilkins wrote in the filing, in which he emphasized her 'heartfelt remorse.' Lovitt's federal public defender, Lauren Cobb, didn't immediately return McClatchy News' request for comment May 27. While working for the Pensacola business, Lovitt had access to 'accounting records, bank accounts' and the company's credit cards, prosecutors wrote in court filings. To hide how she and her sister were using the credit cards for personal spending, Lovitt faked business documents, accounting records and lied on her federal income tax returns, prosecutors said. She never reported the money she's accused of stealing from her employer as income, according to prosecutors. Acting U.S. Attorney Michelle Spaven said in the news release the sisters' 'years-long theft from their employer and the extreme efforts to conceal their criminal proceeds are both illegal and offensive to all hardworking Americans, especially those who own and operate local businesses.' 'It is fitting and proper that they are not only incarcerated, but that they pay restitution and unpaid taxes for their criminal conduct.' How much Lovitt and Williams owe in restitution has yet to be determined, as their restitution has been deferred for 90 days, court records show.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Northwest Florida sisters sentenced to federal prison for embezzling over $844k from local business
PENSACOLA, Fla. (WKRG) — Two sisters convicted of charges stemming from embezzling their employer's money face time in federal prison. Truck and dump truck crash head-on in Mobile; man critically injured According to a news release from the United States Attorney's Office Northern District of Florida, Kimberly Lovitt, 52, of Pace, was sentenced to 36 months, while her sister, Amy Williams, 46, of Milton, was sentenced to 18 months. The two were convicted of wire fraud, money laundering, and filing false tax returns, the release said. 'Abuse of trust, embezzlement and tax evasion warrant significant criminal consequences,' Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida Michelle Spaven said. 'The defendants' years-long theft from their employer and the extreme efforts to conceal their criminal proceeds are both illegal and offensive to all hardworking Americans, especially those who own and operate local businesses. 'It is fitting and proper that they are not only incarcerated, but that they pay restitution and unpaid taxes for their criminal conduct.' According to the release, the embezzlement began in 2016 and continued until 2021. During that time, Lovitt conspired with Williams to embezzle more than $844,000 from their employer, a locally owned business in Pensacola. Lovitt was the office manager, and Williams was the receptionist, the release said. The two used their positions to steal money from the business by using corporate credit cards for unauthorized personal purchases, the release said. Lovitt used her position to create false documentation and manipulate accounting records to cover up their crime. She also failed to report the embezzled money as income on her federal income taxes, the release said. 'The defendants' theft through embezzlement caused great financial strain on their employer and put other employees' jobs at risk,' Ron Loecker, Special Agent in Charge at the Tampa Field Office, said. 'The sentencings today serve as an example of what individuals can expect when they lie, cheat and steal and then try to hide the ill-gotten gains from the IRS.' Gulf Shores makes history with first-ever commercial flight to Alabama's beaches The Emerald Coast Financial Crimes Task Force, which included officers from the Pensacola Police Department and agents from the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation unit, investigated the case, which Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey Tharp then prosecuted. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Dog of captain who lost boats in Lahaina wildfire barks with delight during whale encounter
HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii boat captain who rebuilt her whale-watching tour business after losing three boats in the deadly 2023 Lahaina wildfire captured iPhone footage of her dog barking excitedly when a humpback swam near them over the weekend and poked its head out to greet Macy, a golden retriever. Chrissy Lovitt and Macy, 11, were in a fishing boat about 2 miles (roughly 3 kilometers) off Lahaina on Saturday when they spotted a humpback whale in the waters. 'And he heard her barking and he just swam over to meet her,' Lovitt recalled Tuesday. 'And it was the best day of her life.' In the video, Macy is seen barking frantically as the whale nears the boat. The whale's head emerges and it appears to turn and look at the excited dog. 'She's been barking at whales her whole life, but they haven't wanted to do anything with her,' Lovitt said. Macy is Lovitt's trusty companion when she leads a boatload of tourists to marvel at whales. 'She loves the ocean,' said Lovitt, now a Maui boat captain for 25 years. 'She grew up on it.' Macy is 'obsessed with sea life and whales,' Lovitt added. 'She's 11 and I know we don't get forever with her. But this has been on her bucket list so I'm just super happy for her." Lovitt had just started a whale-watching tour business when the massive inferno wiped out most of Lahaina, including her three boats, equipment and vehicles. On the day of the fire Aug. 8, Lovitt and her partner were trying to secure their boats in the fierce winds when the flames arrived. They had no choice but to head out in the ocean on a boat. There, Lovitt said, they helped the U.S. Coast Guard rescue people who were forced to jump in the water to flee the flames. They relaunched their business in December and have been setting aside free seats on tours for fire survivors, hoping whale-watching will help them heal from the tragedy. Lovitt said she hopes business continues doing well until the end of this month, when the whales tend to return to Alaska.
Associated Press
01-04-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Dog of captain who lost boats in Lahaina wildfire barks with delight during whale encounter
HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii boat captain who rebuilt her whale-watching tour business after losing three boats in the deadly 2023 Lahaina wildfire captured iPhone footage of her dog barking excitedly when a humpback swam near them over the weekend and poked its head out to greet Macy, a golden retriever. Chrissy Lovitt and Macy, 11, were in a fishing boat about 2 miles (roughly 3 kilometers) off Lahaina on Saturday when they spotted a humpback whale in the waters. 'And he heard her barking and he just swam over to meet her,' Lovitt recalled Tuesday. 'And it was the best day of her life.' In the video, Macy is seen barking frantically as the whale nears the boat. The whale's head emerges and it appears to turn and look at the excited dog. 'She's been barking at whales her whole life, but they haven't wanted to do anything with her,' Lovitt said. Macy is Lovitt's trusty companion when she leads a boatload of tourists to marvel at whales. 'She loves the ocean,' said Lovitt, now a Maui boat captain for 25 years. 'She grew up on it.' Macy is 'obsessed with sea life and whales,' Lovitt added. 'She's 11 and I know we don't get forever with her. But this has been on her bucket list so I'm just super happy for her.' Lovitt had just started a whale-watching tour business when the massive inferno wiped out most of Lahaina, including her three boats, equipment and vehicles. On the day of the fire Aug. 8, Lovitt and her partner were trying to secure their boats in the fierce winds when the flames arrived. They had no choice but to head out in the ocean on a boat. There, Lovitt said, they helped the U.S. Coast Guard rescue people who were forced to jump in the water to flee the flames. They relaunched their business in December and have been setting aside free seats on tours for fire survivors, hoping whale-watching will help them heal from the tragedy. Lovitt said she hopes business continues doing well until the end of this month, when the whales tend to return to Alaska.
