Former Bookkeeper Accused Of Stealing $715K From Auto Body Shop

FISHKILL, NY — A former bookkeeper in Dutchess County is facing 1,330 criminal charges after being accusing of stealing almost $715,000 from an auto body shop.

Dutchess County District Attorney William Grady said Suzanne Whitman, 55, of Poughkeepsie, was charged with the following:

• Second-degree grand larceny, a felony.
• 627 counts of first-degree falsifying business records, felonies.
• 702 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument, felonies.

Whitman was accused of stealing the money over the past two and half years from the Fishkill Auto Body Shop in Fishkill.

Grady said the success of any business, large or small, depends on the integrity of those who are given the responsibility for financial oversight.

“The evidence in this case will show that the defendant breached that trust and nearly ruined the company by repeatedly writing checks from the company’s bank account and cashing them to fund her personal expenses,” he said, “and disguised the thefts as legitimate payments to vendors.”

If Whitman is convicted of the charges, she will, because she has a prior felony conviction, face a prison sentence of five to 15 years.

Grady said the court was legally prohibited from setting bail in this case, and she was released under the supervision of the Dutchess County Probation Department.