Woman pleads guilty to stealing approximately $70,000 from her employer

A woman from Rice, MN, pleaded guilty to stealing approximately $70,000 from her employer, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Thursday.

Cheryle Maupin, 59, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two counts of theft by swindle. She will be sentenced on December 18 and the Hennepin County Attorney’s prosecutor will argue for 54 months in prison, which is the maximum under sentencing guidelines.

According to the criminal complaint, the owner of Innovative Building Concepts contacted Bloomington Police on July 18, 2016, because she thought an employee was embezzling from the company. She told investigators that she hired Maupin as an office manager the previous November. In her application materials, Maupin identified herself as “Cheryle Lynn” and presented what turned out to be an altered Minnesota driver’s license for employment.

As office manager, Maupin had access to the company’s assets including checking accounts, credit cards and payroll. Around July 4, 2016, the owner of the company learned that Maupin was using a false name and had previously been convicted of theft by swindle — in fact, Maupin had engaged in a similar scheme to steal from a prior employer. Acting on this information, the owner conducted an audit of the company’s financial records and noticed many irregularities. In particular, she discovered unauthorized charges on two company credit cards totaling more than $50,000; a fraudulent check in the amount of $7,475; $600 in missing petty cash and unauthorized pay raises to Maupin’s salary totaling $4,640.

Investigators learned that the fraudulent check was used for a down payment on a 2017 GMC Terrain. Police executed a search warrant of Maupin’s home. They found the Terrain and many other items purchased using the stolen funds. One of the credit cards was found in Maupin’s car and the other in her home. When the search warranted was executed, Maupin was found hiding in the master bathroom, according to the complaint.

Maupin Criminal Complaint (PDF)