Comment #1

konane — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 15:56:32 GMT

".......The losses went unnoticed and the company never hired an outside auditor to check the books because she had a trusted position, Varnau said. Meanwhile, he said, the company was forced to lay off workers and restructure operations because of the losses........."<br /><br />http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/embezzlement_arrest

Original Blog Entry: $10,000,000 Stolen by Bookkeeper to Buy Shoes

truesee — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 10:33:50 GMT

Bookkeeper accused of embezzling $10 million

Kristina Davis

Union-Tribune

Staff Writer

1:43 p.m. March 7, 2009

SAN MARCOS The bookkeeper for a North County manufacturing business was arrested on accusations of embezzling nearly $10 million from her employer to fund her lavish shoe collection, remodel her home, vacation in Italy and gamble, authorities said.

Sheriff's investigators say Annette Yeomans, 51, siphoned an average of $100,000 a month from Quality Woodworks, Inc., while she was chief financial officer from 2001 to 2007.

As a result, the San Marcos cabinetry business was forced to lay off employees and restructure their operations, said Sgt. Mark Varnau of the sheriff's Financial Crimes Unit.

Yeomans surrendered to authorities Friday morning and was booked into Vista jail on $10 million bail on suspicion of grand theft and embezzlement. It was unclear Saturday whether Yeomans had hired an attorney.

A nearly yearlong sheriff's investigation revealed that Yeomans would spend $25,000 on her credit card each week and then pay off the balance the following Monday with company funds.

Her purchases include spending nearly $25,000 to remodel her closet to house about 400 pairs of shoes valued at $240,000, as well as 160 designer purses valued at $2,000 each.

The posh dressing room included a crystal chandelier, granite-topped center island and 32-inch plasma television, Varnau said.

Investigators also found that Yeomans gambled heavily at local casinos and lost extensive amounts of money.

Varnau said Yeomans, who is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Vista Superior Court, was able to hide her alleged crime from the company due to her position of trust.

But that ended when American Express noticed the pattern of payments made with company checks and made a phone call to the business.

Yeomans was fired last year and agreed to turn over her assets to the company, which has recovered about $2 million from the sale of her home, some cars and other property, Varnau said. Her husband was a cabinet installer at Quality Woodworks but was not suspected of any crime, Varnau said.

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