Woman charged with theft of $200K from employer
A North Franklin Township woman was arraigned Monday on charges filed by Chartiers Township police in connection with the theft of more than $200,000 from her former employer.
Carrie Ann Ammons-Daviduk, 38, of 1285 Overlook Drive, is charged with 36 counts each of theft, theft by deception, tampering with records and unlawful use of a computer, 30 counts of forgery and 15 counts of failure to make required disposition of funds.
Ammons-Daviduk is accused of stealing $209,471.92 from Valley Bulk Transport Inc., 919 Western Ave., while working as controller of payroll for the company, which handles bulk deliveries.
John Washabaugh, owner of the company, told township police Sgt. Michael Filosi Oct. 29 that he hired another person in mid-September to help out with the controller duties.
The new employee noticed numerous withdrawals from the First Niagara payroll account. As she was examining those, Filosi said she discovered that Ammons-Daviduk withdrew $8,950 for 21 consecutive weeks and direct deposited the money into two of her own bank accounts. The amount was $8,000 more than Ammons-Daviduk’s weekly salary of $950, court documents state. The payments began April 26 and ended Sept. 12, with Ammons-Daviduk receiving $168,000 in unauthorized money, police said.
Filosi said Washabaugh did not realize the money was missing until the new employee discovered the discrepancies. Ammons-Daviduk quit after the discrepancies came to light. Filosi said she told him she used the money for improvements to her home.
Ammons-Daviduk also is accused of signing Washabaugh’s name on checks that were made out to cash. Those 15 checks, which totaled $41,471.92, were cashed at First Niagara branches in McMurray and Washington. The company’s records indicated the checks had been made out to various vendors.
Ammons-Daviduk was arraigned before District Judge David Mark and released on $50,000 unsecured bond. A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 29 before Mark.