Bookkeeper Embezzles $9.9M, Buys Shoes

(AP)  A former bookkeeper embezzled $9.9 million, forcing her company to make layoffs while she bought 400 pairs of shoes that she kept in a room-sized closet that contained a crystal chandelier and a plasma television, authorities claimed.

Annette Yeomans, 51, surrendered at the Vista jail on Friday and was booked for investigation of grand theft and embezzlement.

She was being held Saturday at the San Diego County jail in Vista on $10 million bail. It was not immediately clear whether she had an attorney.

Yeomans embezzled the money from 2001 to 2007 while she was chief financial officer for Quality Woodworks, Inc., a cabinetry business in San Marcos, authorities contended.

"On a weekly basis Yeomans would spend $25,000 on her credit card and then pay off the balance the following Monday with company funds," said Sgt. Mark Varnau of the sheriff's Financial Crimes Unit.

The losses went unnoticed and the company never hired an outside auditor to check the books, Varnau said.

"She was bleeding them and then able to cover her tracks" because she had a trusted position, he contended.

However, the company was forced to lay off some workers and restructure some operations because of the losses, Varnau contended.

Investigators contend Yeomans bought luxury cars and made shopping trips to Italy.

She spent at least $240,000 on 400 pairs of shoes, $300,000 on designer clothing and 160 purses valued at $2,000 each, investigators alleged.

A bedroom in her San Marcos home was remodeled into a clothes closet and boasted a granite-covered center island, crystal chandelier and 32-inch plasma television, Varnau said.

Yeomans also gambled heavily at northern San Diego County casinos, Varnau said.

Her husband was a cabinet installer there but was not suspected of any crime, Varnau said.

An investigation began after American Express notified the company in February 2008 that one of its checks had been used to make a payment on Yeomans' account, Varnau said.

Yeomans was fired last year and agreed to turn over her assets to the company, which has recovered about $2 million from the sale of her home, some cars and other property, Varnau said.

Yeomans moved to Escondido, Varnau said.

[toolmangler-2009]

I wonder if she is any relation to Imelda Marcos?

[wvu74621]

What a POS!

[brianbwb-2009]

" She was able to embezzle 25k a week? Sounds like the only one who should have been laid off was the CEO." Posted by rsmik

So close, so close...

If anyone thinks that the CEO didn't know about this, (accountants cannot disburse amounts larger than petty cash without sign-offs from upper management) and also enjoyed some of the booty (both figurative and literal), and that the husband didn't know abour an entire room in his own home being turned into a luxury closet/spa, then those people who are obviously neocons.

The fine for grand theft, plus the prison time, still leaves the accountant with a sizeable sum, when she gets out, she will still be rich.

[dennisgreen5]

This ***** needs to be in prison a long time

[legacyabq]

No amount of punishment will ever restore the shattered lives of those that lost their jobs because of this disgusting criminal bookkeeper.
------Posted by credibility2 at 2:46 PM :


If that is true, than why does the first sentence of your post recommend she be "put in front of a firing squad" ?

Only a true moron would recommend a firing squad for an accounting scam..

I bet your all for the death penalty but against abortion right?

LOL

[legacyabq]

hahaha lmao what a stupid ceo for letting this happen.. Never ever ever eve put all your companies books into the hands of ONE SINGLEPERSON

Outrageously stupid.. They almost deserve the losses for being so naive

Its amazing how poorly americans run businesses.. This country is truly a joke these days lol

[andacar]

I think this case proves a comment I heard a while ago concerning many high ranking managers in big companies: that many of them are psychopaths. What else but a total lack of conscience could allow somebody to go the cruelly selfish levels of self extravagance we see with this woman? What else but a complete lack of empathy, and a view that the world is full of suckers for you to destroy would let anybody like this sleep at night? And we seem to be finding more and more of them at top levels of big companies all the time. What does that say about getting to the top ?the American Way?? We?re putting soulless monsters in charge of our corporations.

[tincup356]

Now this woman sounds like she has qualifications to run for public office....Both parties are real good at embezzling money.

[gosuckabug2day]

This company must be as poorly managed as GM to not have noticed embezzelment of this magnitude. Hope this woman enjoys prison and having big nasty women munch her muffin and vice versa.

[rsmik]

She was able to embezzle 25k a week? Sounds like the only one who should have been laid off was the CEO.