South Brunswick Woman Admits Embezzling $500K From Employer

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — A South Brunswick woman who worked as an office manager for a Hamilton Township engineering firm admitted this week to stealing more than $500,000 from her employer.

Karen Thompson, 45, of South Brunswick, worked as an office manager and performed payroll functions for Roberts Engineering Group in Hamilton, NJ, from 2004 until 2017. She admitted to paying herself unauthorized reimbursements from January 2012 through April 2017, resulting in a loss in excess of $500,000 to her employer.

Thompson manipulated and altered computer records in the company’s accounting and payroll software to commit the theft, the Mercer County prosecutor said. She pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a charge of second-degree theft by deception.

The state is recommending a three-year prison term and restitution in the amount of $516,714.77 to the company when she is sentenced on December 13.

Photo of Thompson released by the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office