EVERETT — Detectives believe a former bookkeeper for an Everett company stole more than $128,000 in cash and goods over three years.
Deborah Shepard, 52, was arrested Tuesday for investigation of more than two dozen counts of forgery and multiple counts of identity theft.
She was hired in 2011 at PTC Inc., court records said.
Last October, company leaders began to suspect someone was embezzling.
They hired another employee to help with the bookkeeping and to keep track of equipment. That’s when it was discovered the money was missing.
Investigators believe the woman used credit cards belonging to the business to make personal purchases, according to a police report.
The company provided police with bank statements, receipts and invoices showing unauthorized purchases allegedly made by the former bookkeeper.
Most of the purchases were made online and shipped to a location near the woman’s home, police wrote. Detectives were able to obtain surveillance photos of the suspect.
The $128,000 listed in court papers could be a low estimate.
“It is believed this amount is much higher,” according to a police report.
The 26 forged checks alone are believed to have topped $80,000, police allege. One check for $10,000 reportedly was written out in the bookkeeper’s name.
Police arrested the suspect at her home in Skagit County. She did not talk to the investigators about the allegations, according to the report.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
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