CRANBERRY TWP., Pa. (EYT) – A Knox woman is accused of stealing approximately $25,000.00 from her Venango County employer through an apparent payroll scheme.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Franklin-based State Police Trooper O’Toole, felony charges have been filed against April Michele Stewart, 45, of Knox.
Stewart — an employee at Wagner Family Eyecare in Cranberry Township — was responsible for completing the company’s payroll information and forwarding it to an accounting agency.
On August 1, payroll information was found on Wagner Family Eyecare’s business fax machine. The fax showed that during this pay period, Stewart was scheduled to receive ten hours of overtime pay totaling $258.00. The document was presented to the owner of the business, and he confirmed that Stewart did not work 10 hours of overtime during the pay period in question, the complaint states.
Following further investigation by the company, it was determined that Stewart allegedly received $25,000.00 for overtime that she did not work. Also, it was discovered that co-payments paid by eye care patients had not been properly deposited in the business’ account, the complaint continues.
When confronted by the company, Stewart allegedly admitted to turning in false overtime hours to obtain extra money from the business.
On August 2, Stewart was interviewed by Trooper O’Toole and “admitted to falsifying payroll information.” She allegedly admitted to receiving $20,000.00 to $30,000.00 in false overtime pay, according to the complaint.
On another occasion, Stewart was asked about co-payments that had been made to the business. She allegedly told police that she kept various co-payments that had been paid in cash, the complaint indicates.
A criminal complaint was filed against Stewart at District Judge Patrick Lowrey’s office:
She was arraigned on August 8 on the following charges:
- Theft By Unlawful Taking — Movable Property, Felony 3
- Theft By Deception — False Impression, Felony 3
Stewart was released on $27,000.00 unsecured bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on August 17 in front of Judge Lowrey.