Bookkeeper Charged With Embezzling $1.5 M From Orthopedic Group

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — A Lake Forest woman pleaded not guilty to charges of stealing $1.5 million from an orthopedic practice in Newport Beach while she was employed as the company's bookkeeper. On Thursday, Tina Marie Reyes, 46, was accused of 36 counts of grand theft with sentencing-enhancement allegations of aggravated white collar crime exceeding $500,000.

Reyes is accused of stealing from California Orthopedic Specialists Inc. of Newport Beach from August 2014 through July of 2017, according to court records.

Dr. Scott Forman, one of the practice's doctors, first learned something was amiss during his European vacation. While away, he contacted Reyes to find out why a contractor hadn't been paid, according to the complaint. Though she insisted she would make the payment, Forman decided to investigate further.

When he returned to Newport Beach, he took closer look at bank statements and realized there were "larger-than-average sums going into a group account for the practice," according to the criminal complaint.

"Forman then noticed credit balances on company credit cards that were extremely high" and that Reyes had made personal purchases, according to the complaint.

Reyes was fired when she returned from her vacation at the end of June 2017, according to court records.

She had been hired to replace a bookkeeper of 21 years, who retired in 2014.

"She was able to hide her theft by transferring just enough contributions from each individual doctor to cover the payments on the credit cards on all her charges and the company's monthly payments, and then transfer money back into a doctor's individual accounts to make them appear whole," the complaint alleges. "A complete forensic audit revealed that defendant stole approximately $1.5 million."

City News Service with Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig