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That's the thief in the zebra outfit.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The program director of Cleveland Beer Week is
accused of stealing $40,000 in charitable donations that the
organization uses to fund scholarships.

Christine Montague, 48, is charged with grand theft and forgery.
She is scheduled for arraignment Sept. 21 in Cuyahoga County
Common Pleas Court.

Montague stole $44,849 from Cleveland Beer Week during a two-
year span from January 2014 to the end of January 2016,
according to court records.

Montague, who served as the program's director since 2009,
siphoned funds donated to the organization for the Malone
Foundation scholarship program, according to court records.

She earned a $10,000 yearly salary to serve as the program's
director and the public face of the event giving interviews to
media outlets promoting the event.

But instead of sending the payments to the scholarship fund, she
paid herself, according to a Bedford Heights police
investigation.

In a September 2015 interview with cleveland.com's Marc Bona,
Montague said Cleveland Beer Week flagship events had raised
about $150,000 in the past, adding: "hopefully we'll hit
$200,000 this year -- that's our goal."

Montague was arrested Aug. 8 and is free on a $25,000 surety
bond.

She did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

John Lane, of the Winking Lizard, who is one of four operating
board members for Cleveland Beer Week, said he couldn't
elaborate on the charges or how the organization found out about
the missing money. Bedford Heights police did not provide a copy
of the police report on Thursday.

"We absolutely can't do as much for the charity," Lane said.
"We're trying to keep our momentum going forward and just move
on."

Another board member, Ed Thompkins of Heinen's, said the theft
has not impacted this year's Beer Week, set for Oct. 14 through
Oct. 22.

"Basically, we're still going full steam ahead," Thompkins said.

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