Woman Stole $430K From Morrisville Company: Police

MORRISVILLE, PA — A New Jersey woman has been arrested on charged that she embezzled more than $430,000 from the company she worked for in Morrisville.

Yolanda M. Torres, 43, of Hamilton, was arraigned Tuesday morning on 10 felony counts of stealing from Shu Dental Laboratory, Inc., according to the Bucks County District Attorney's office. Torres had worked for the company since 2016 as a bookkeeper.

According to investigators, Torres began stealing from the company almost immediately after taking the job. She began issuing unauthorized business checks to herself, her son and others totaling $439,637.19, prosecutors say.

About half of the bogus transactions happened earlier this year, when Torres made a series of large transfers from Shu Dental's business credit line, they say. The first, for $50,000 allegedly happened on April 10, followed by another for $75,000 on May 8 and a third for $95,000 on June 8.

In all, Torres cut 188 unauthorized checks, each stamped with the company's owner's signature, the district attorney's office says. They say Torres also gave herself three unauthorized raises, increasing her pay by 50 cents per hour in September 2016 and by another 50 cents in November of that year.

In all, she collected $6,114 more than she should have through the fraudulent raises, prosecutors say.

According to an affidavit filed by prosecutors in the case, Torres has admitted to prosecutors that she used money from Shu Dental to pay her rent and utilities, her son's college tuition and other personal expenses.

In an effort to conceal the money she'd stolen, she made donations to the political campaign of a Trenton councilwoman, an animal foundation and a fund backing a youth football team in Ewing, prosecutors say. In fact, they say, Torres stole money from accounts belonging to those groups.

Prosecutors say the investigation in the case began in July, after a client contacted Shu Dental to report an unauthorized charge of $1,316 on his business credit card by Torres. Torres resigned from the company on July 13 after she was questioned about the transaction by the company's owner and his assistant, prosecutors say.

"Over a period of two years, Yolanda Torres abused her position of trust at Shu Dental Lab to turn a personal profit and conceal a pattern of theft. She used her employer like an open checkbook and ravaged the company’s finances," said First Assistant District Attorney Gregg D. Shore. "Bucks County has long been a tremendous place to do business, and by holding people like Ms. Torres accountable for their actions, we intend to keep it that way."

Torres is charged with dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, theft, receiving stolen property, identity theft and crimes related to the illegal use of computers. District Judge John J. Durkin on Tuesday set her bail at $100,000.

Photo courtesy Bucks County District Attorney's office