February 21, 2018 at 4:51 p.m.
Rhinelander woman accused of taking over $28K from Rhinelander GM
Rhinelander woman accused of taking over $28K from Rhinelander GM
By Kayla Thomason-
According to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday, Anna M. Petersen, 41, has been charged with theft in a business setting over $10,000, a Class G felony.
According to the complaint, her general sales manager called the police department Feb. 19 to report Petersen had embezzled over $20,000 from a "petty cash" account.
An investigator then met with the caller, the general manager and the human resources manager. They informed the officer that someone had tried to cash a company check labeled "petty cash" in the amount of $16,500, according to the complaint.
This particular check was slated to be cashed out and had been authored by Petersen, the complaint states.
According to the general sales manager "there had been a sticky note attached to the check asking that the check be cashed out all in $100 bills." Petersen signed the note and endorsed the back of the check, the general sales manager said, adding that company officials had located other suspicious "petty cash" checks that appeared to have been cashed by or for Petersen, according to the complaint.
The general sales manager told police it appeared that Petersen was creating the checks, giving them to a courtesy driver to take to the bank and cash for her. It was also stated that it was common for the courtesy driver to drive other company checks and statements to and from the bank. Petersen had also been having the courtesy driver drop off her personal checks, according to the complaint.
The general sales manager said several other checks were discovered and an audit would need to be completed.
All checks were labeled "petty cash," and the money appeared to be missing from the business' checking account. The suspicious transactions totaled $28,796.86, and the most recent check, in the amount of $16,500, was stopped before it could be cashed out, according to the complaint.
The general manager and general sales manager told the investigator that they questioned Petersen, "who denied taking the money, telling them that the checks were cashed and it was done because someone had left her a sticky note to cash the checks," according to the complaint.
The officer the interviewed Petersen, who initially denied any involvement with the missing money. She claimed she had been saving bartending tip money for over 10 years. The officer questioned where and how she hid the money and how she managed to keep it a secret all these years. She stated she didn't know but that she had saved approximately $54,000 in tips over 10 years.
According to the complaint, the officer told Petersen "based off my own estimate only a small portion of the actual loss had been discovered and I told her that her theft was going to add up to be well over $54,000."
Petersen then admitted to issuing, cashing and keeping the money from company checks for her own personal use. The money wasn't used on gambling or drugs, she said, adding that that she had been left with "a ton of debt" after her divorce and her daughter's college tuition was "exorbitant." She also told the officer she used the money to pay past dues and fix her roof.
She gave officers permission to look over her banking account, and they reviewed statements from January 2016 to Feb. 19, 2018. They found numerous deposits of $100 to $500, according to the complaint.
"I was able to add up all of Anna's deposits, not including her paychecks, and found that between January 1, 2017 until February 19, 2018 Anna deposited $53,533.65 into her checking account. I compared that to her deposits from January 1, 2016 until December 31, 2016 Anna only deposited an additional $9,240.40," officer Josh Chiamulera of the Rhinelander Police Department wrote in his report.
If convicted, Petersen may be fined no more than $25,000 and imprisoned no more than 10 years or both.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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