Woman Indicted For Allegedly Stealing More Than $183,000
WOBURN – Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan has announced that Theresa Zimmerley, 56, of Ashland, has been indicted on charges of larceny over $250 from a person 60 years or older, forgery, uttering a false document, false entries in corporate books, and a violation of the witness intimidation statute. An arraignment date will be scheduled.
“The owner of the company this defendant worked for had the expectation that she could be trusted,” said District Attorney Ryan. “But she allegedly violated that trust and secretly diverted tens of thousands of dollars of company money to herself. Reports are that the deception was very calculated, in that she allegedly diverted checks but then covered up that activity by making changes in a software database so anyone else would assume the money was going to appropriate entities."
Natick Police Chief James Hicks added, "This case shows the value of cooperation and teamwork in an investigation. Many organizations, including several different banks, were able to gather the necessary information to bring this forward for this indictment. It is unfortunate that people, for various reasons, take advantage of the trust they are given by their employers to advance their needs or desires."
On October 21, 2014, the Natick Police Department received a call from the owner of Sullivan Surveying Company saying he suspected theft after going to his bank to make a withdrawal and discovering the account balance was low. Police officers went to the owner’s office and escorted Zimmerley, the company bookkeeper, from the business after she had been fired. Subsequently, Zimmerley was interviewed by a Natick Police Detective regarding Zimmerley’s role in the theft.
Investigators say between September 1, 2013 and October 18, 2014, Zimmerleyallegedly cashed 154 company checks for a total theft of $183,332.87. Authorities say Zimmerley used the company computer accounting system to generate checks made payable to herself, forged the owner’s signature, and then cashed the checks at banks where she had accounts in Ashland and Framingham.
On at least some of these checks, Zimmerley allegedly attempted to cover her tracks by going into the general register of the accounting system and changing the payee on checks that were made out to her to reflect that they had been made payable to frequent service providers of the company. After being fired, Zimmerley allegedly made repeated attempts to discourage the business owner from cooperating with the police and eventually used her familiarity with the company’s e-mail system to change its password, locking the owner out of the e-mail system.
These charges are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the Natick Police Department and the Special Investigations Unit of the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.
The prosecutor assigned to this case is Assistant District Attorney William R. Freeman. The Victim Witness Advocate is Lori Riccio.