A 39-year-old Springfield woman was sentenced Wednesday, May 27, to three years in prison after stealing from her employer, Eugene Weekly.

Elisha Joe Young worked as a bookkeeper for the newspaper, where she embezzled over $138,000, the Lane County District Attorney’s office said in a news release.

“Ms. Young wrote company checks to herself, made over-the-counter withdrawals and direct payments to her personal account with no business purpose, and gave herself a salary increase without authorization,” the district attorney’s office said.

Young pleaded guilty March 24 to three counts of first-degree aggravated theft and two counts of first-degree theft.

The thefts took place over a roughly two-year period, between July 2021 and December 2023. The losses led to the temporary layoffs of every employee at Eugene Weekly. 

Eugene police investigated the theft. Following Young’s indictment, she was arrested in Ohio and extradited back to Lane County for prosecution.