A man that reported to police Tuesday that the check cashing store he worked in had been held up and robbed at gunpoint will likely be charged with embezzlement for stealing more than $70,000 from the store, police said Wednesday.
According to Lt. Diedrich Hohn, the clerk who reported the robbery told police a man had appeared out of nowhere as he was taking out the trash, but police became suspicious when his story failed to add up.
According to Hohn, the suspect, who has not formally been charged yet, had been stealing from the company for some time and backfilling what he had been taking. The man reportedly had a large amount of debt, Hohn said.
Hohn said police are applying for an arrest warrant, but will have to hold off on charges until an audit of the company can be completed to gain exact numbers for what the man allegedly stole.
The suspect has been cooperative with police, and Hohn said he has admitted his involvement in the disappearance of the money. According to Hohn, the man panicked when he realized how much he'd taken and concocted the story to try and cover his tracks, but couldn't explain away the non-functioning alarm system panic button or surveillance cameras for the store.
Hohn said it appeared the man had been stealing from the company for roughly the last three months. No money was actually stolen from the business Tuesday, Hohn said.
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