Minnesota woman accused of taking $140K from employer

DETROIT LAKES - A Detroit Lakes woman is accused of taking advantage of her office manager job to give herself double paychecks and unearned overtime, forge company checks, misuse company credit cards, and secretly direct company funds into three private bank accounts she set up for herself.
Stephanie Jo Disse, 44, of 15502 East Munson Lake Drive, Detroit Lakes, is accused of stealing $143,000 from her former employer, Dow Acoustics, and faces seven felony charges in Becker County District Court. Add in the cost of a forensic accounting investigation, as well as loans and fees taken out to cover a cash shortfall at the acoustical ceiling company allegedly caused by the embezzlement, and Disse is accused of costing the company about $213,000, according to court records.
The misuse of company funds allegedly started soon after she took the bookkeeping job at Dow Acoustics in December of 2009 and lasted through March 21, 2014, when she left the company after being confronted by the owner.
The owner recorded a meeting with Disse in which she allegedly admitted taking money and offered to pay it back in installments.
As office manager, Disse’s duties included bookkeeping, payroll, accounts payable and accounts receivable.
She allegedly started misusing a company credit card soon after starting her position as office manager in 2009, and over several years used it to purchase personal items at a host of retailers in Detroit Lakes, as well as hotel rooms, gas and $74,225 in unearned salary in fiscal years 2009 through 2014, including paying herself overtime hours not worked and paying herself twice at payroll time, and also paying herself at non-payroll times.
The audit allegedly found that she was making unauthorized deposits of Dow Acoustics funds into three personal accounts at three different banks.
The owner had never given her check-signing authority, but she allegedly signed company checks and forged the owner’s name on checks on several occasions.
The total amount misappropriated totaled $143,100.
Disse is charged with seven felonies: Financial transaction card fraud – no consent; theft; theft or diversion of corporate property; check forgery - making or altering a check; and three counts of check forgery - falsely endorsing a check.