Washington resident Robbie Critzer, charged with embezzling more than $300,000, appeared for a bond hearing last Thursday in Rappahannock County Circuit Court where she was released on a $25,000 secured bond.
Critzer, 48, was indicted by a grand jury on eight counts of embezzlement — one count in September and seven in November. The indictment dated Sept. 9 alleged that on April 3, 2023, Critzer embezzled a check belonging to Greg Williams, owner of Williams Tree Service at Ben Venue, with a value of more than $1,000.
The other seven counts list embezzlement offenses from January 2020 to April 2023 each more than $1,000, according to the indictments, which did not include any other details.
Prosecutor Eric Olsen told Judge James E. Plowman Jr. that the total amount of the embezzlement charges is “in excess of $300,000.”
Critzer was hired as store manager of Williams Tree Service in 2021, according to an interview with the Rappahannock News at the time, in which Williams described her as a “driving force” in the store’s success.
Critzer’s attorney, Joseph Pricone, asked Plowman to consider granting Critzer an unsecured bond — a bond that is not backed by collateral or payment. Pricone said Critzer has no criminal record, is a homeowner, a lifelong resident of the county and is not a flight risk. He said several members of her family live in the community as well, and were present in the courtroom.
Pricone represented former Washington resident Chester Brown on firearms charges linked to a gun owned by Doris Critzer, Robbie Critzer’s mother, who was found murdered in her home in August 2023. No one has been charged with the murder.
Pricone told the judge that although he has not yet received the commonwealth’s evidence for the seven new charges, he has reviewed facts from the original charge. He said the check listed in the first indictment, which he said totalled $90,000, was deposited by Williams, not Critzer, into a joint account the two shared.
Olsen said that the prosecution alleges Critzer was an “accountant” for Williams Tree Service, and was put “in a position of trust” and then “took hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Olsen said with the addition of new charges, the matter is a “significantly different case and risk … than the original single indictment,” and requested Critzer’s bond be set at $30,000.
Plowman granted the commonwealth’s request for a secure bond, setting the amount at $25,000 total for all eight charges.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Art Goff earlier had recused himself from the case, and Olsen, a special prosecutor from Stafford County was appointed to handle the proceedings.
Critzer will appear in court on Feb. 10 for a status hearing.
Sign up for Rapp News Daily, a free newsletter delivered to your email inbox every morning.
