NORTH COAST, Calif. – Sonoma County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 59-year-old Sebastopol woman on Tuesday for allegedly stealing more than $250,000 from her former employer.
Frances Farias was arrested on suspicion of taking the money from Windsor’s Oakmont Senior Living, according to Sgt. Spencer Crum.
Crum said the investigation began on Jan. 13, 2017, when Oakmont Senior Living’s management called the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office to report that Farias, their former payroll clerk, was accused of funneling payroll funds to fictitious and secondary employee accounts.
A lengthy forensic audit was then conducted of Oakmont’s accounts, Crum said.
Detectives determined that Farias was in charge of payroll for Oakmont and that she set up 10 fictitious employee accounts created for the company over the last three years. Crum said the payroll accounts were comprised of contractor employees who had done work for the company along with completely fictitious employees.
These employees’ accounts were all directed at four different online banking institutions. Crum said detectives determined that these online bank accounts were actually owned by Farias.
Oakmont had been paying these fictitious employees paychecks over the course of the last three years. Crum said the total loss accumulated over the three years is in excess of $256,000.
Farias had left Oakmont’s employment in May 2016. When a new payroll clerk was hired, she noticed accounting irregularities which triggered the initial investigation, Crum said.
Crum said that at the conclusion of the sheriff’s office investigation, Sheriff’s Property Crimes Unit detectives secured a $2 million warrant for Farias’ arrest.
Detectives arrested Farias on July 25 for the warrant and while serving a search warrant at her home they found evidence of her crimes, Crum said.
Crum said Farias also is being investigated for several other fraudulent schemes as well that may result in further criminal charges.
Farias is currently being held in the Sonoma County Jail on seven felony charges including grand theft and identity theft. After a court hearing on Tuesday, a judge reduced her bail to $100,000, Crum said.
REGIONAL: Sebastopol woman arrested for stealing more than $250,000 from senior living facility
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