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Lodi woman accused of bilking $1.1 million from employer
A Lodi woman was arrested Thursday on accusations that she stole $1.1 million from her employer.
Brenda Kemper
Brenda Kaye Kemper, 57, who had worked for nearly 20 years at Big Valley Aviation in Stockton, was booked into the San Joaquin County Jail, where she will remain until she appears in court or posts $1.2 million cash bail.
Sheriff's deputies served an arrest warrant Thursday morning at her home in the 200 block of Audobon Drive.
Kemper allegedly used company credit cards, which the other employees knew nothing about, to buy large amounts of jewelry, according to an arrest warrant filed in court.
She also transferred money from the company to her own accounts to pay for Home Shopping Network items, restaurant tabs, veterinarian bills, clothing, hotel rooms and services at a Lodi tanning salon, according to the affidavit signed by Detective Cyndy Kelso.
The discrepancies weren't discovered until Kemper took medical leave in June to have gastric bypass surgery and someone else took over the bookkeeping.
Until then, Kemper had been president of the board and bookkeeper for the employee-owned business that services helicopters and fixed-wing planes.
"The business has always done well but we've never been able to see money in the bank," said Paul McKenzie, a 30-year employee who is now acting board president.
"I had a sneaking suspicion what was going on but I didn't have any evidence to support my claim," he added. "I'm not one to point fingers if I don't have anything to substantiate my claims."
At one point, McKenzie sat on the board and tried to get an audit and make a five-year plan to help the company. Instead, he said Thursday, Kemper called shareholders who don't normally vote or attend meetings, and they voted him off the board.
The embezzlement appears to have picked up in recent years, McKenzie said. That, along with the downturn in the economy, has been a bad combination for the company.
At one point, Big Valley Aviation had 21 employees, but now they're down to 13. Employees are considering taking voluntary pay cuts just to make sure they still have jobs, McKenzie said.
"We regard these cases as an attack on employers," said Deputy District Attorney Stephen Taylor, who filed felony charges against Kemper. "What these embezzlers are taking could have been used for payroll — (they're) taking money off the tables of the employees."
Taylor has recently seen a number of embezzlement cases, and most had been going on for years until they were uncovered.
He didn't blame the economy as a motive for the culprits, but instead said tight times are probably making business owners look more closely at their books to find ways of saving money.
"The common thread in all of these cases is that the victims were not examining the bank statements and canceled checks at the end of each month; instead they were letting their bookkeepers do it," he said.
In Kemper's case, she allegedly racked up credit charges that were all classified as "parts" and "misc" in the company's books, according to the arrest affidavit. In a one-year span, a Visa card was charged $43,778 for various expenses, and the next year another card had $55,000 in charges.
An accounting company and investigators are still going through more books, and seized evidence from Kemper's home Thursday. If any items were found to be purchased for the aviation company, the total embezzlement amount could drop, Taylor said.
As of Monday, when Kelso signed the affidavit, she and other investigators and gone through "hundreds of thousands" of credit card charges and only found three related to company business, none of them for large amounts.
Kemper could face up to eight years in prison, Taylor said, as well as having to repay the money — something that would not be erased if she were to file for bankruptcy.
Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.
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S & w 500 wrote on Jan 17, 2009 6:27 PM:
Things are getting worse, and things will get out of hand. The "law" is going to have to rely on US to provide protection for all.
May I wish all thieves, scumbags, druggies, rapists, child molesters, and milkers a quick trip to their maker.
Leave the rest of us alone. We work hard, scrape by, and will defend a great nation. "
s & w 500 wrote on Jan 16, 2009 10:13 PM:
While this post may be removed, I SPEAK THE TRUTH> TIME TO REMOVE ALL THIEVES FROM THE EQUATION. Shoot to kill, that is, IF you are in imminent danger.
If they embezzle, dig a big hole with lime! "
Inquisitor wrote on Jan 16, 2009 5:33 PM:
McCray wrote on Jan 16, 2009 4:59 PM:
radone wrote on Jan 16, 2009 4:54 PM:
IMHO wrote on Jan 16, 2009 12:14 PM:
dogs4you wrote on Jan 16, 2009 11:41 AM:
class of 007 wrote on Jan 16, 2009 10:56 AM:
i agree. bring in the outside auditors and fire everyone who knew about it. thats as good as stealing it yourself "
reality1 wrote on Jan 16, 2009 10:14 AM:
loadeye wrote on Jan 16, 2009 9:47 AM:
4AStrongLodi wrote on Jan 16, 2009 9:35 AM:
And, the leaders of these companies should be blamed too. You don't run a company and not have proper, regular auditing processes. "
weezer wrote on Jan 16, 2009 8:55 AM:
Do they have a financial controller, chief financial officer, accounting manager, chief accountant, etc.?
FIRE THEM ALL! "
loadeye wrote on Jan 16, 2009 8:25 AM:
Mrs. S. wrote on Jan 16, 2009 8:15 AM:
I hope she enjoys her retirement in prison. "
justme wrote on Jan 16, 2009 7:43 AM:
Comments on this story are now closed.