A South Carolina furniture store accused an employee of embezzling over $200,000 and using some of it to fund two European holidays.
The accusation against Maria Hamma, 46, of South Carolina is that she stole money from her job at Furniture in High Point, Anderson County.
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office believes that Hamma, who worked at the store for ten years and was a manager for seven, stole more than $215,000, some of which was used to pay for both three-week holidays.
The store’s owner started a two-month investigation after finding “inconsistencies” in the company’s financial records.
Detectives believe that Hamma embezzled the money using at least six different techniques, including reportedly swiping directly from the company’s cash register and charging $30,000 in personal expenses on her company credit card.
She is also suspected of drafting herself a $6,000 bonus check and faking timecards with more than 800 hours of fraudulent work.
“She put 800 hours on the timecard over a two-year period. “Every time I thought we were nearing the end, something else would come up,” said Detective Tyler Brown.
Hamma is also accused of fraudulently posing as if she owned the company and “forged contracts,” causing the store to lose $215,318 in total.
She is now facing felony charges of breach of trust, forgery, and computer crimes, with a maximum sentence of ten years in prison if convicted.
Following her arrest, Hamma was released on a $15,000 bond, according to FOX Carolina.
