Woman sentenced to one year in county jail for felony charges

A case that has been going on for over a year in District Court finally came to a conclusion on Monday as Lola Vialpando was sentenced to one year in county jail and 10 years of supervised probation by judge Robert Skar.

Vialpando was charged with 21 felony counts of forgery, theft and larceny along with two misdemeanor counts of larceny in November of 2016.

The charges stem from as far back as December, 2010, with Vialpando forging check’s using her employer’s name, Kevin Smith, owner of Smith Oilfield Services. Additionally, she made mobile transactions, used company credit cards and even altered bank statements to cover her tracks.

In total, Vialpando skimmed nearly $180,000 to pay her husband’s child support, buy groceries for family members, pay cell phone bills and even medical bills for her children.

In November 2017, Vialpando plead ‘no contest’ to the charges and a plea agreement was reached between the two parties.

At sentencing on Monday, Vialpando said she was very sorry for everything.

“I have four children at home,” she said. “I have been taking care of my grandmother as much as I can. I have failed my family and friends, but I’ve learned a lesson.

“I want to start paying restitution. I am sorry to have caused so much pain.”

Skar asked how much per month she was able to pay toward the restitution and Vialpando indicated she had been working and was putting $500 a month toward it.

With close to $180,000 to pay back, Skar pointed out it would take 30 years for her to pay it all back at that rate.

As mentioned, Vialpando had plead ‘no contest’ to the 21 charges, however, Skar was not receptive to that plea in light of the plea agreement. Instead, he said she would have to plead guilty in order to even consider the plea agreement.

After consulting with her attorney, Vialpando did change her plea to guilty on all counts.

Jerry Williams, prosecuting attorney representing the State of Wyoming in this case had several things to say before Skar made his final decision.

Williams pointed out the money stolen was in such a large scale it was obviously not for ‘need’, but for ‘greed.’ They were buying properties, taking vacations and buying new cars.

“And even when Smith Oilfield started having to lay off employees, she continued,” Williams said. “She didn’t stop, it got worse. In 2015, she took more out of the company than Kevin (Smith) himself.”

Williams also pointed out a time when three strangers had broken into Smith Oilfield and they had all three received jail time, “but she sat there and smiled. People trusted her,” he said.

Vialpando’s attorney, William Struemke, disagreed with Williams’ assessment of a small town boy getting taken.

“Lola (Vialpando) is not responsible for the whole oil industry collapsing,” he said, referring to the layoffs Smith Oilfield faced.

Struemke urged the judge to consider Vialpando’s innocent children and the impact jail time would have on them, her husband and family.

“She was given a dollar, given two dollars,” he said. “She took three or four. She is not a hardened criminal. We don’t want to burden her husband with payments and taking care of the children.”

With her lack of criminal history and her willingness to plead guilty, Struemke said probation in this instance was the way to go.

“Give her the chance to do right and make right,” he said.

After hearing from both attorneys, Skar had his own voice to add.

“Your kids and husband are going to be hurt by this,” Skar said. “You were stone cold sober and took advantage of people’s trust.

“I’m sure you regret it. I’m also sure you regret getting caught. This wasn’t a one-time event it was ongoing for multiple years. That little person on your shoulder – either it wasn’t there or you chose not to listen to it.

“The money you took was not available to keep employees working. You knew what you were doing and there is no excuse for that.

“When your kids don’t get something they want, no family vacations; they are going to hurt over and over again.”

If Vialpando were to break the terms of her probation after her year in county jail, Skar pointed out that she would be facing 18-30 years behind bars.

In addition to her restitution, Vialpando will have to pay $150 for each of the 21 counts to the Crime Victims Fund as well as court costs.