NAPA, Calif. — According to www.napavalleyregister.com, Katarina Francesca Peralta, 28, who worked as a bookkeeper for Alta Portfolio, which does business as Jefferson Car Wash as well as several other companies, pleaded no contest to 14 counts of embezzlement after being accused of stealing over $170,000 from her employer, George Altamura.
Peralta worked for the company from March 2014 to August 2015, the article continued, but after she stopped showing up for work that August, Altamura hired a new bookkeeper.
Shannon Eckerman, the new bookkeeper, discovered that Peralta had been stealing thousands of dollars each month over the course of most of her employment there, the article noted.
Peralta’s duties included collecting rents, making bank deposits and posting deposits in QuickBooks, the article added.
Carwash employees would take any cash earned at the carwash as well as the associated receipts and drop it off at Wells Fargo Bank, after which an office manager with Alta Portfolio would pick up the money and receipts and bring them to Altamura’s office, where two employees would count everything to make sure it all matched up, the article reported.
Afterwards, the article continued, it was Peralta’s job to take the cash and deposit it in the Alta Portfolio account at the bank; however, Eckerman discovered that instead of depositing the cash at Wells Fargo, Peralta would keep part or all of the money for herself.
At times, Peralta would deposit more than she was supposed to, the article noted, but it “nowhere near” made up for what was missing, prosecutors stated.
Eckerman also found that some QuickBooks entries had been manipulated, the article stated.
A warrant for Peralta’s arrest was issued on Aug. 31, 2016, and she was arrested on March 15, 2017, the article noted.
Peralta, who had pleaded not guilty to the charges, was set to go to trial in March, but she instead pleaded no contest to the 14 counts of felony embezzlement, and she also admitted to special allegations of aggravated white collar crime and property damage for each charge, the article noted.
Peralta’s sentencing is scheduled for July 12th, and she is currently out on bail, the article concluded.
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