Falls Man Accused of Using Company's Credit Card to Resell Gas for Cash

A 44-year-old Menomonee Falls man is facing charges after he allegedly used his employer’s credit card to buy gas at gas stations and then sell it to family members and strangers for a discounted price.

Dennis A. Westrich was charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court Tuesday with one count of theft. If convicted, he faces up to nine months in prison and $10,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

Waukesha County sheriff’s deputies were called to Ken’s Beverage Inc., S15W33816 Wolf Road, Town of Genesee, after a branch manager in the store reported a former employee had been making unauthorized charges to a company credit card in March. Westrich failed to turn in 37 receipts from the month, which the manager said was unusual and about $2,380 in purchases were deemed unlawful charges.

The manager went to Westrich’s Falls home and confronted him about the charges and Westrich first said there must have been a mistake. When presented a spreadsheet of the unlawful charges, Westrich just said he’d return the keys to his truck.

He told officials he needed money to pay for bills, food and his family, so he would use the card to fill up people’s tanks at gas stations or for friends and charge them 50 to 75 percent of the total in many cases to profit.

He will make his initial appearance in court July 23.