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No Comments [ Add Comment ]S. Ogden office manager charged with embezzling / Hearing delayed for woman accused of taking $250,000
By TIM GURRISTEROGDEN -- A South Ogden woman who worked as an office manager has been charged with embezzling as much as $250,000 from her employer.
Susan Hall Franco, 49, is accused of thefts from Felt Spencer Physical Therapy going back three years, said Sgt. Dwight Ruth, head of the detective division at the South Ogden Police Department.
Up to $250,000 was taken, he said.
"She was in a position of financial trust in the business," he said.
"She took care of all their financial transactions. As office manager, she was in charge of just about everything."
Employees at Felt Spencer Physical Therapy, 5734 S. 1475 East, South Ogden, had no comment about Franco on Tuesday except to say she had worked there about 10 years.
Ruth said the thefts were accomplished over the years by simply using company credit cards and company checks for personal use.
Company officials feel the thefts may have begun before 2005, he said, but so far, the investigation has covered company records dating only as far as back as 2005.
"The owners ended up realizing their books were coming out in the negative after doing their own research," which led them to call police, Ruth said.
Franco was formally charged in August with one count of second-degree felony theft. Utah has no first-degree felony theft statute.
Franco was arraigned Aug. 20 in 2nd District Court before Judge Scott Hadley.
Her case has been continued numerous times, most recently Tuesday, as prosecutors and the defense continue negotiations toward a plea bargain, according to court records.
A decision on scheduling a preliminary hearing for Franco was postponed Tuesday to Feb. 24.
Ruth said he didn't have immediate access to more details on the case, such as how many individual thefts occurred, because the detective who led the investigation recently resigned from the department.
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