Michigan dental bookkeeper Wendi Torres gets jail for stealing $50-100,000

Wendi Torres, an Alma, Michigan (MI) woman was ordered to spend six months in jail and pay back an as-of-yet undetermined amount of restitution when she was sentenced Monday for embezzling money from her former employer. Wendi Torres, 48, of Alma pleaded in October to embezzling between $50,000 and $100,000 from Mid Michigan Dental Excellence of Alma, her employer of about 10 years.

Gratiot County Circuit Court Judge Randy Tahvonen also ordered that Wendi Torres’ new employer be notified of the conviction.
Chief Assistant Gratiot County Prosecutor Jennifer Shephard said Torres was an office manager at the business. As part of her duties, Torres handled payroll, and from 2012 until March of 2015 she claimed more hours and overtime pay than she actually worked.

By her calculations, Torres claimed more than 2,000 unearned hours over three years, Shephard said.

Those hours were reported on W2 forms, but it wasn’t until the most recent tax year that the owner of the business noticed the discrepancy. “Wendi Torres was a trusted employee,” Shephard said. “Her employer indicated (the embezzlement) affected his personal finances, but it also impacted the morale of the office staff, and that he was unable to give bonuses because of it.”

Wendi Torres received five years of probation

Torres, who has no previous criminal record, was put on five years of probation, and ordered to pay restitution within that same time.
Restitution is still being calculated, Shephard said.