An ex-office manager, who embezzled more than $75,000 from her Santa Ana company in 2010-11 and moved to Arizona after she was fired, was arrested near her new home in Huntington Beach Tuesday, according to police.
Deborah Mueller, 60, was arrested on a warrant charging her with grand theft, forgery, computer-access fraud and falsifying records, the Santa Ana Police Department reports.
She had been employed at Jorgenson Metal Rolling & Forming as the office manager for over a decade when, in January 2011, Mueller was suspected of embezzling a large amount of money and was terminated.
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Santa Ana detectives launched an investigation at that time, but Mueller then moved to Arizona.
“The investigation revealed that Mueller embezzled over $75,000 from her employer in a 14-month period,” alleges a Santa Ana Police statement.
Detectives located and arrested Mueller near her new home in Huntington Beach, and during an interview she confessed to the theft because she needed the money, according to police, who add she also had several outstanding warrants from Los Angeles County for “similar crimes.”
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