She was released early from prison Feb. 9 after receiving judicial release, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
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McLin was part of a prominent Dayton political family. She was the daughter of the late State Rep. C.J. McLin Jr. and half-sister of former Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin.
Scherrie McLin took over her family’s funeral home business at 2801 N. Gettysburg Ave. An investigation in 2013 revealed approximately $200,000 in missing prepaid funeral services contract funds, dating as early as 1993.
She was convicted of felony charges of one count of theft, one count of theft from an elderly or disabled person, one count of grand theft, two counts of tampering with government records, and seven counts of violation of pre-needs contracts.
There were 50 victims included in the prosecution’s investigation, according to court records. Most of the victims were elderly or disabled.
McLin was sentenced to four years in prison, serving 3½ years at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville.
Rhine McLin did not respond to a request for comment about her sister.
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Scherrie McLin’s attorney on the case, Clyde Bennett, said he was “disturbed and saddened” by her passing.
“My involvement with Ms. McLin allowed me to see that she wanted to really restore the victims and put them back in the position they were in,” said Bennett. “That’s something that she really wanted to do, so I’m quite certain that if she could feel a certain way, she’d be quite sad that she couldn’t because of her death.”
Bennett went on to say that the conduct McLin was found guilty of was not indicative of the type of person he believed her to be.
“I would hope that this criminal case doesn’t define the type of person she is or what her legacy is. She was much more than that,” he said.
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“The city of Dayton has lost a great McLin family member and business owner,” said Derrick Foward, president of Dayton Unit NAACP. “She will be missed.”
She came from a family with a “deep, rich history” inside the Dayton community, said Foward, noting her grandfather, C.J. McLin Sr., was a former president of Dayton’s NAACP chapter.
Funeral arrangements were unavailable Thursday.
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