Employee Steals $40K From Non-Profit Children's Theater

BETHESDA, MD — A man who stole over $40,000 worth of ticket refunds from a children's theater in Bethesda will appear in court this week, according to reports.

Nkunim Edusei, 21, of Potomac faces up to 35 years in prison on embezzlement and theft charges for stealing from Imagination Stage, ABC7 reports. He is scheduled to appear in the Montgomery County District Court on March 1.

Imagination Stage hired Edusei when he was in high school in 2011. Prosecutors said a financial audit showed 137 fraudulent "ticket sale refunds" were made in April and May 2017. The transactions, totaling $42,113.26, were refunded to one of three credit cards all under the last name Edusei, ABC7 reports.

Edusei worked as a "Patron Services Associate" and ran the front box office at the theater, located at 4908 Auburn Ave.

When police interviewed him at his home in Potomac, Edusei admitted he stole the money to pay for personal and family charges. He told police he was going through a "rough time" since his mother passed away, the report says.

“We have been aware of the incident leading to the embezzlement charges for some time and are cooperating fully with the police investigation," Brian Antin, director of patron services, told ABC7. "At this time it is a police matter and we have no further comment.”

>> See the full post on ABC7 here.

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