Woman accused of stealing $100,000 from Barbie club

Thursday, March 28th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

CLAREMORE, Okla. (AP) _ The treasurer of a Barbie Doll club is being held in the Rogers County Jail after her arrest for allegedly taking an estimated $100,000 from the club's convention account.

Cynthia Fern Izon, 39, of rural Claremore, also is accused of embezzling about $50,000 from the Tulsa Akdar Shriners, a convention sponsor.

Izon was arrested Wednesday after giving a written statement in which she admitted she took the club money, police investigator Tim Norris said.

Izon said she used the money to pay utility bills, postage, mileage and fees on a lawsuit she said was filed against the club but was, in fact, against her, Norris said.

No charges have been filed.

Izon was treasurer for the Barbie Doll Club of Eastern Oklahoma. She is accused of taking club money generated during the group's 20th annual international convention, which was held June 14-17, 2000, at the Maxwell Convention Center in Tulsa.

The Shriners had hoped to receive about $50,000 from two auctions held during the event, with proceeds going to the Akdar Shrine Temple Hospital Transportation Fund. The fund aids parents of children with medical bills.

Norris said doll club officers became concerned when Izon dodged questions about convention profits, failed to cooperate with requests for receipts and stopped returning phone calls.

Records show that Izon was convicted in 1988 in Oklahoma County for embezzling from her employer, Continental Airlines. She received a six-year sentence with six years suspended, Norris said.