10 Years Probation For Grand Theft From Design Business

PALM SPRINGS, CA – A woman who cashed $129,000 in forged checks from the Palm Springs business where she worked as a secretary and payroll manager was sentenced to 10 years probation Tuesday.

Cynthia Lee Hack, 51, of Colton, pleaded guilty in September to grand theft and forgery charges for signing her boss' name on checks made payable to her while working at GAT III Interior Design Inc.

Her boss reported to police that Hack was "responsible for the day-to- day operations" of the business and that they "had developed a personal friendship," with Hack working under him for about 14 years, according to an arrest warrant declaration.

He told police last May that he'd discovered that she'd forged his signature on "40 of the last 160 checks he reviewed" between January 2016 and May 2017, "which he never authorized and all made payable to Cynthia Hack, resulting in a financial loss to the business of approximately $129,000," the declaration states.

Police said bank records corroborated the amount her boss reported was missing.
Investigators also captured video surveillance of some of the check transactions, and "in numerous instances over the almost year-and-a-half time span of cashing checks, Cynthia would high-five and make excited movements before or after the transaction, almost similar to a form of duping delight," according to police.

Hack was arrested earlier this year, but was released shortly afterward on $130,000 bail, nearly the amount she took from the business.

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