Posted: Feb 22, 2012 4:51 PM by Jen Hollenbach (Great Falls)
Updated: Feb 22, 2012 6:28 PM
The Brighten Up Shop in downtown Great Falls is feeling the fallout from a misprint on a criminal charge filed last week.
Shop owner Becky Hughes has received numerous calls about Patti Hopkins, who was accused last week of embezzling money from her own mother. Hopkins appeared in court on Friday.
The affidavit incorrectly states that Hopkins used her mother's credit card for "expenses related to her retail businesses: the Brighten Up Shop and Montana's Fountain of Youth."
The Great Falls Police Department has since clarified that Hopkins used the money to purchase items from the Brighten Up Shop for her Fountain of Youth business.
Hughes says it's not only upsetting to be mistaken as someone who embezzled from family, but it's also put the store's name on the line.
Hughes noted, "The Brighten Up Shop has been here for 100 years, and it's got a fantastic name for quality workmanship. And I want to continue with that, but if I'm associated with somebody that has been stealing, people are not going to come in here."
Hughes says she is ready to move forward from the incident with a clean slate.
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