Tosa Woman Embezzled Almost $24K from Small Business: DA

A Wauwatosa woman is charged with stealing almost $24,000 from the Milwaukee men's hair salon where she worked, according to a criminal complaint.

Lauren Rose Anderson, 23, was charged Feb. 26 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court with theft by fraud in an amount more than $10,000, a Class G felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $25,000.

According to the complaint: 

Milwaukee police were called by a forensic accountant hired by Groom for Men, 330 E. St. Paul Ave., after discrepanicies in the books were found.

The private accountant and a police detective confirmed that between Nov. 10, 2010, and Jan. 31, 2011, while Anderson was working for the business as office manager, she embezzled funds in the following ways:

• Writing company checks for cash and keeping the money;
• Padding the hours on her own paychecks; and
• Adding herself to a company credit card account and using it for multiple unauthorized purchases.

A detailed accounting showed a total loss of $23,661.42 over the span of three months.

The owner of the business told police she confronted Anderson about the missing funds and she had admitted stealing from her, but not in the amount uncovered by the accountant.