Country Club Of Birmingham Employee Charged With Theft

MOUNTAIN BROOK, AL — A longtime employee of the Country Club of Birmingham has been arrested and charged with stealing close to $500,000 from the club over the course of several years.

Court records said Michael Charles Vines, who has been employed by the club since 2002, has agreed to plead guilty in the Northern District of Alabama to one count of wire fraud. Records show that between 2007 and 2018, Vines engaged in a scheme to steal cash and other proceeds from the club, and federal investigators said he concealed that scheme by making false and fraudulent representations in person and in emails to club management and an outside auditor.

Vines was employed as an accounts receivables clerk and was responsible for preparing a portion of the monthly bank account reconciliation dealing with deposits, according to an Alabama Media Group report.

In 2018, an outside auditor discovered that bank records reflected a balance that was $455,643.72 less than the account balance reflected on the reconciliation Vines provided to the auditors, according to the court report.

In Vines' new role as a technology specialist for the club, he allegedly attempted to cover up his fraud scheme by making changes in the software system, but the software left a trail of the changes Vines made, records say.

Vines reportedly resigned his position at the club after being confronted with the evidence. An inspection of his work station turned up a significant number of undeposited checks in his desk drawer that were payable to the country club.

After an investigation by a separate forensic accountant, evidence indicated that Vines had embezzled "large amounts of cash" from the club. The cash received included cash from members and other visitors including monthly dues, merchandise sales and special events hosted at the club.

Vines faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of not more than $250,000. He also faces forfeiture in the amount of at least $466,746.