Arrest warrant issued for ex-country club worker ordered to pay $4M in embezzlement lawsuit

ANDERSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WXIX) - A national arrest warrant and a $4 million civil judgment have been issued against the former employee of a Greater Cincinnati country club accused of stealing more than $871,000 and absconding to Mexico, court records show.

Coldstream Country Club fired their controller, Kinley Brice Lee, 27, in late November after he failed to return from a vacation and an audit uncovered massive theft, said the club’s attorney, Christopher McDowell.

The country club with a golf course is located in Anderson Township between Cincinnati and New Richmond off Asbury Road.

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office has been investigating, along with the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office. The U.S. Secret Service also is involved.

Lee is now charged with felony theft. In addition to pursuing criminal charges, the club went after him civilly.

They sued Lee and his wife, Katherine Olga Sulky, seeking triple damages for the alleged theft, reimbursement of his annual $95,000 salary and punitive damages.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Visiting Judge Robert Ruehlman sided with Coldstream, ruling in his decision they “acted in concert to intentionally steal $871,687.80″ from (the country club) and “to defraud” it.

“Lee was an employee of (the club) during the period he was stealing from (his employer) and used his position of trust and confidence with (the club) to steal,” the judge wrote.

Part of the judgment grants the club’s request for sanctions because of Lee and his wife’s “failure and refusal to comply with the court’s discovery order” despite being expressly warned they would be held liable if that occurred, a copy of the decision shows.

“The arrest warrant and civil judgment show that crime does not pay,” McDowell said.

“Although the wheels of justice may be slow at times, justice will prevail in the end. We are working with federal and state officials to bring Mr. Lee to Cincinnati, where he will no doubt be convicted and sent to prison for a long time. He can run but he cannot hide from the long arm of the law. We know where he is in Mexico and we are going to get him. It’s just a matter of time.”

Lee had no criminal record when he was hired in February 2023.

The audit, however, determined that Lee transferred money from his work credit card to his personal PayPal account and forged checks to himself, according to the lawsuit. The couple also bought two vehicles with the money: Mercedes and a Kia Telluride.

Lee took off before the audit even started, according to McDowell.

“He told (the club) he wanted to take a vacation to get a head start before audit, and just didn’t come back to work. Thirty to forty-five days before the audit he took as much money as he could knowing he was going to get caught by the audit. He put it off by a week by saying he was going on vacation,” McDowell said.

“He wasn’t really going on vacation. He was moving his stuff to Mexico. He basically had a week and a half head start on the audit and used club funds to pay for his moving expenses. They are living at a place in Mexico with the girl’s father in a nice gated community around a lake and that’s where we believe they are.”

McDowell said he isn’t sure what motivated the alleged theft, but the couple were gamblers.

The club has put stricter accounting policies into place and hired a new controller.

The now-former couple did not respond to requests for comment.

Court records confirm they moved late last year to Ajijic, a town on the north shore of Lake Chalapa surrounded by mountains in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. Jalisco is the second-largest metropolis in Mexico and it’s famous for its mariachi music, tequila and “charreria” (Mexican rodeo).

Both filed written responses to the lawsuit, denying the accusations and asking that it be dismissed.

They also wrote separate letters to the court indicating they are now estranged and unable to defend themselves from the litigation.

“Due to being shunned by my family following the release of Mr. McDowell’s news article, I am unable to afford legal representation,” Lee’s letter to the court states.

“I am completely insolvent and unable to continue the defense of my case. I apologize for any of your time I have wasted, Your Honor.”

His wife requested that her name be removed from the lawsuit before the judgment was issued, something the judge did not do.

She is part of $3.9 million of the total judgment. The judge hit Lee with an additional amount of $79,166.70 under Ohio’s “faithless servant doctrine.”

“My life,” she wrote the court, “may never recover from the embarrassment and presumed guilt that I felt from everyone once this complaint was blasted on all media outlets. Despite what my soon-to-be ex-husband did or didn’t do, I was dragged through the mud alongside him.

“I have stated and upheld my innocence from the start. Everything I am stating here would have come out in deposition and it would be even more clear and obvious that I am wrongly named in this suit, however, I am now on my own and do not have the means or skills to defend myself and prolong this case long enough for my innocence to be indisputable.”

The original judge on the case, Tom Heekin, took a medical leave earlier this year. It’s not clear when or if he will return.

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Sharon Kennedy appointed Ruehlman, a retired veteran judge, to oversee Heekin’s docket for Heekin’s entire leave.

Ruehlman’s appointment came at the request of the county court’s administrative Judge Wende Cross, according to the filing.

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