Yorba Linda accountant arrested on suspicion of embezzling $1.8 million from Suzuki of America in Brea

Police believe a Yorba Linda woman who worked for almost four decades at Suzuki Motor of America’s headquarters in Brea stole nearly $2 million from the company over the course of five years, and arrested her Thursday, Oct. 3.

Bonnie Mullion, 65, was taken into custody and booked on suspicion of 89 counts of embezzlement, Brea police said in a news release. The accountant allegedly began stealing from her employer in 2012, depositing a total of about $1.8 million into her own accounts, Brea police Lt. Tim Mercado said.

“She manipulated documents in her position, and was able to divert company funds,” he said.

Mullion had been an employee of the auto manufacturer for 38 years before the company notified authorities of her alleged embezzlement and fired her in 2017, Mercado said.

Police spent over a year gathering evidence and examining documents before presenting a case against the Mullion to the Orange County District Attorney’s office. Officers arrested the suspect without incident at her home Thursday, and she was held at the Orange County Jail in lieu of $1.8 million.