Holy Moses! Heston Bilked by Accountant?

Money manager accused of embezzling more than $700,000 from late "Ten Commandments" star and others

By Josh Grossberg Apr 15, 2008 7:32 PMTags
Charlton HestonZuma Press

Apparently someone forgot that whole "Thou Shalt Not Steal" dealie.

An accountant at a Los Angeles-based business management company pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges she embezzled more than $700,000 from the late Charlton Heston and TV mega-producer Stephen J. Cannell.

Sharon Walker, 56, was arrested Monday and charged with two counts of grand theft by embezzlement, three counts of forgery and five counts of filing false tax returns for allegedly fabricating her clients' signatures to pay off credit card debt.

Per a spokeswoman at the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, Walker swiped $157,000 from Heston, who died April 5 at age 84.

She also allegedly siphoned off $567,000 from Cannell, the Emmy-winning mastermind behind The Rockford Files, The A-Team, Hunter and the Johnny Depp-launching 21 Jump Street.

Prosecutors declined to identify the name of the firm where she worked.

Walker is being held on $700,000 bail. If convicted of the charges, she could face up to 11 years in state prison.