(Memphis) Two people who live in Germantown are accused of stealing $90,000 from a company. Police say the two spent the last year and a half using a company credit card to live it up.
The main investigator in this case says the woman who was in charge of the books at Industrial Applications was using her ultimate position of trust to rip her boss off.
“Both of them were in extreme positions of trust,” said Fraud Investigator Andy Wilson.
Wilson helped build the case for police so they could charge both Michelle Nemeth and Matthew Cruse with stealing about $90,000 from their employer.
“And this crime will likely go over that,” said Wilson. “That’s just what we have proven to date.”
The bookkeeper and operations manager are accused of using their company issued credit cards to buy everything from clothes at Lane Bryant to groceries from Costco to dinners around town. Nemeth, as the officer manager, would allegedly cover-up the credit card bills by labeling the charges in the system as “office” expenses. Police say she helped her co-worker Cruse cover up his purchases as well.
“In late August, 2013 the owner became suspicious,” said Wilson.
That’s when the owner of Industrial Applications, a floor surfacing company, hired Wilson to investigate.
“Ultimately, we interviewed them and they acknowledge that they misused the credit card,” said Wilson.
“Did they seem to feel guilty?” asked Reporter Sabrina Hall.
“They were guilty that they got caught,” said Wilson.
Wilson says if the two are convicted, they will likely be ordered to pay restitution to the business but that will likely be difficult to pay-off since they both could face 8 or more years in prison
Nemeth has already bonded out of jail with $10,000 but Cruse has yet to turn himself in.
