Women accused of stealing $1 million from Mercedes dealership
Personal Injury News
Article Date: 6/11/2009 | Resource: MLG
Women accused of stealing $1 million from Mercedes dealership
“Contracts clerk wrote fraudulent trade-in checks to her sister-in-law, prosecutors say.”
A woman who worked at an Anaheim Hills car dealership and her sister-in-law have been arrested and charged with embezzling more than $1 million, prosecutors said.
Sheryl Lynn Law, 46, of Riverside, worked at Caliber Motors in Anaheim Hills for more than 10 years as a contracts clerk in the financial department, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. She was responsible for writing checks to customers who traded in their old vehicles and keeping a log of the transactions
Between June 19, 2000, and Aug. 13, 2007, Law is accused of writing 144 fraudulent checks and embezzling more than $1 million from Caliber Motors, prosecutors said. She is accused of writing the checks to her sister-in-law, Jessica Louise Newark, 64, of Whittier, or Newark’s now-deceased husband, prosecutors said. Law and Newark are accused of splitting the stolen money, prosecutors said.
Law is also accused of manipulating the dealership’s records to hide the theft, prosecutors said.
In 2007, Caliber’s business manager discovered a number of suspicious checks written by Law to Newark, prosecutors said. On Sept. 10, 2007, Caliber’s chief financial officer contacted the Anaheim Police Department to report the suspected theft.
Law and Newark were arrested today by Anaheim police at their homes in Riverside and Whittier, respectively, prosecutors said. They are being held on $1 million bail and must prove any money is from a legitimate source before posting bond, prosecutors said.
Law and Newark are charged with grand theft by embezzlement, 80 felony counts of computer access and fraud, and sentencing enhancement allegations for white collar crime over $500,000. If convicted on all counts, they face a sentencing range from five years and four months to 63 years and four months in state prison, prosecutors said.
They are expected to be arraigned Thursday at 9 a.m. at North Justice Center in Fullerton.
For more information regarding this article please contact:
Jeffrey Marquart
(949)589-0150
jmarquart@marquartlawgroup.com