A Dearborn resident was charged with embezzling over one million dollars from a small business in Taylor.
Paula Elkins, 47, was charged with wire fraud in relation to the theft of approximately $1,124,889 from her employer, J.S. Vig Construction Company.
According to the indictment, Elkins, who worked for the company as a bookkeeper and comptroller, wrote 196 unauthorized company checks to the attention of an inactive local hockey league and deposited the checks into the league's bank account, which she had control over.
She also allegedly wrote unauthorized company checks to pay off her credit cards and wired money from company accounts to her personal account without any authorization. In the process, she reportedly forged the authorized signature on the checks.
"Theft from small businesses hurts more than the company owners - it damages communities and causes people to lose their jobs," said U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider. "We will vigorously prosecute these crimes of greed because of their damaging effect on our society.”
Elkins was arraigned in federal court Wednesday and released on bond.
