NEW ULM – Jacquelynn Rae Streich was sentenced to pay $100,000 in restitution and serve a staggered jail sentence of 120 days in Brown County Court on Wednesday.

In April, Streich pled guilty to three counts of felony theft between June 2022 and June 2023 that created more than a $100,000 loss for Be a Great Teacher, a business that offers professional development courses for teachers.

The State alleged Streich took unauthorized expenses, made payments on her credit card from the business’s bank account and owner’s bank account; made personal Amazon purchases on the business’s credit card; and paid herself overtime that she was not entitled to; did not return books when told to do so; and paid herself twice what she was hired to do.

According to the complaint, Streich worked as an administrative assistant for Be a Great Teacher from June 2022 to September 2023.

In the final months of Streich’s employment, Be a Great Teacher owner Bob Fink noticed he was no longer making money and planned to shut the business down. The owner contacted a former employee and asked her to help him close the business.

The former employee noticed payments made to a Discover credit card that the business did not have and suspicious charges to Amazon without receipts or orders on the business’s Amazon account. No packages were ever delivered to the business and there were no payroll records or expense reports.

During Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Bob Fink, former owner of Be a Great Teacher, was allowed to read a victim impact statement.

In the statement, Fink said that he was the owner of Be a Great Teacher for 20 years and in that time, the business was a success and he made a positive impact on the lives of many teachers and educators, but because of Streich’s actions, he was forced to sell the business, causing financial stress that also impacted his physical health.

Fink said he would never understand why Streich choose steal from his business and behave so cruelly toward him. Fink said that during the time Streich worked for him, she often complained about how much work she was expected to do and how it negatively impacted her.

“You made me feel like you were overworked and underpaid,” Fink said. “I still cannot believe how mean and manipulative you were.”

Fink said it was satisfying to hear her finally admit guilt for her action last month when pleading guilty to the three counts of felony theft.

Fink said he was happy that Be a Great Teacher was still thriving under a new owner, who confirmed that the administrative work only took 20 hours a week.

Fink said his ability to move forward from this incident will depend on the apology letter Streich is required to write as part of her plea agreement.

As part of the plea agreement, the state agreed to a stay of adjudication on the third count of felony theft. This means if Streich is able to complete probation without any violations, the felony theft count would be dismissed.

During sentencing, Judge Robert Docherty placed a stay of imposition on the first and second counts of felony theft, over the objections of Brown County Attorney Dan Kalk.

Docherty cited Streich’s lack of previous criminal history for placing a stay of imposition on the first two counts.

Under a stay of imposition, if Streich completes her five years of probation without any violations, the felony convictions would be reduced to misdemeanors.

The sentence does require Streich to serve 120 days in jail, staggered over four years in 30 day segments. The $100,000 restitution may be paid in $25,000 increments per years starting one year after the date of sentencing.

Each year Streich is able to make the $25,000 restitution payment, the 30-day jail sentence would be waived.

If the restitution is paid within three years, the State would allow for early discharge from probation once a minimum of three years of probation had elapsed.