Office manager gave herself hefty secret raises, splurged on Amazon, Florida cops say
A Florida woman’s luxury spending spree came to an embarrassing end, after authorities realized the money came from giving herself $5 hourly raises year after year, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators say the 35-year-old Daytona Beach woman was in the perfect position to change payroll records, as the office manager of a marine towing company in Ormond Beach, about 85 miles southeast of Jacksonville.
She was arrested May 27 after a two-month investigation determined more than $200,000 was stolen from the company, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
“A review of (her) bank records indicated much of the money was spent on Amazon purchases, amusement park tickets, home improvement and decoration, restaurants and other recreational expenses,” the sheriff’s office said.
The company contacted the sheriff’s office in April to report an employee was suspected of “inflating her own pay without the owners’ knowledge,” officials said.
“An initial review of payroll records revealed that (she) had altered payroll several times, given herself three $5 hourly raises and overpaid herself more than $165,000 between September 2019 and April 2022,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Upon further investigation, it was discovered (she) was providing different payroll records to the owner to obscure the true pay she was actually receiving. In addition to her self-approved pay raises, (the suspect) regularly paid herself extra compensation for ‘on-call’ time, and time-and-a-half for overtime.”
The suspect’s 2021 salary “was supposed to be $41,022,” but she ”grossed $122,844 in salary for a reported 4,127.2 hours of work,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Since the beginning of the thefts, it was calculated (she) stole more than $201,000 in excess pay plus payroll tax costs,” officials said.
She was charged with grand theft and released from Volusia County Branch Jail after posting $50,000 bail, the sheriff’s office said.
This story was originally published June 2, 2022 at 10:57 AM with the headline "Office manager gave herself hefty secret raises, splurged on Amazon, Florida cops say."