EVERETT — April Laughlin was sent to prison four years ago after embezzling more than $200,000 from her employer.
It doesn’t look like the Everett woman has mended her ways.
Laughlin, 35, is in legal trouble again for allegedly stealing from two employers. She is charged in King County with multiple counts of theft, accused of forging checks from a Woodinville company in 2013. Last month, Snohomish County prosecutors charged her with identity theft and forgery, alleging that Laughlin bilked thousands of dollars from a Monroe business where she worked for a few months earlier this year.
Laughlin is expected to answer to the charges Friday in Snohomish County Superior Court. If she is working, prosecutors are going to ask the judge to order that Laughlin provide them with the name and address of her employer. Prosecutors intend to send a copy of the charging documents to any of Laughlin’s bosses. They also want the judge to make Laughlin keep them apprised if she changes jobs.
Laughlin didn’t have any criminal history when she was hired in 2006 as the office manager for the newly formed West Coast Weather Stripping. There she forged more than 100 checks and used the company credit card to make personal purchases. The owners told a judge they never suspected that Laughlin would steal from them. They spent time together outside of work, including holidays. In a letter, they wrote that thefts nearly destroyed their small business.
Laughlin was convicted of first-degree theft in 2010 and sentenced to two years in prison. She was ordered to pay back nearly $220,000.
The owners eventually sued Laughlin trying to recover the money. She has not paid it back, court paper said.
Laughlin landed another job in late 2013 at a King County company. She was hired to work in the office, in charge of creating purchase orders and mailing checks to vendors once they were signed by the owner.
The owner of Advanced Lean Manufacturing learned in January that one of his vendors hadn’t been paid. Bank records show a check originally written to the vendor had been altered and was cashed by Laughlin, court records said. Three other checks meant for vendors also had been forged and deposited in Laughlin’s bank account. Nearly $5,100 was missing from the company.
Laughlin reportedly told detectives she didn’t know how the checks ended up being written to her.
“She claimed she lived paycheck to paycheck,” the detectives wrote.
Laughlin was fired and told that if she returned, she’d be arrested for trespassing.
Two months later she began working for the Wet Noses Natural Dog Treat Company, a small, family-owned business in Monroe. She processed customer orders and credit card payments. She didn’t have the authority to write or sign company checks.
In July, a vendor complained about not being paid. The company’s records showed that the check was written to the vendor and cashed in June. A copy of the check showed, however, that it was written out to Laughlin, according to court documents. She is accused of forging seven checks, totaling about $38,000.
Laughlin was fired and arrested the day after the thefts were discovered.
She told detectives she didn’t know why she forged the checks, prosecutors wrote. She claimed some of the money went to charity and some to people on the streets. Laughlin said she also paid bills with the stolen money.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Hal Hupp, who used to lead the office’s identity theft unit, says it’s a good idea to a do a background check on employees no matter how small the company. The checks are particularly important for anyone who is going to be handling money, even if they are promoted from within the company, he said.
Court documents don’t say if Laughlin’s recent employers checked her criminal history before hiring her.
Laughlin’s 2010 theft conviction shows up in the Washington State Patrol’s criminal database, which is open to the public.
The database includes all Washington state convictions and arrests within the past year, so long as the information has been provided by the courts or the police department that arrested the suspect, said Deborah Collinsworth, the State Patrol’s identification and criminal history section manager.
The information is available through the state’s public records law. A search can be done online.
“There is a charge, but $10 is minimal when compared to the other costs of hiring and training a new employee, and certainly when compared to the risk or cost of hiring the wrong person,” State Patrol spokesman Bob Calkins said.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.
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