×

Newell woman facing embezzlement charges

NEWELL-A Newell woman is facing charges that she embezzled money from a Beaver, Pa., dentist’s office where she worked as a secretary.

Stacey Marie Franczek, 38, of Harrison Street in Newell, has been charged with felony counts of theft, theft by deception, receiving stolen property and forgery for allegedly stealing more than $4,100 from the dentist’s office of Dr. Pamela Crumrine, a Beaver police report said.

Franczek is accused of taking 32 checks intended for Crumrine-21 personal patient checks and 11 insurance checks-and depositing them for her own use, according to a complaint filed by Beaver police Detective James DeGori.

Beaver police began investigating Franczek in February after Crumrine reported that a former office receptionist/secretary was under suspicion of forgery and theft. The dentist provided copies of two checks that had been submitted by patients but had been made payable to Franczek, the report said.

Crumrine began an internal investigation when she received a letter from a patient saying that the “pay to the order of” section of the check had been made out to Franczek, the report said. Another patient said he did not make the check payable to anyone because he had been advised the office had a stamp for that purpose.

In March, Beaver police executed a search warrant at PNC Bank and discovered 32 checks intended for Crumrine that Franczek allegedly had deposited into her personal checking account, the report said.

In an interview with police, Franczek allegedly admitted that she had taken the checks and deposited them into her bank account, the report said. The amount totalled $4,188.50.

Starting at $2.99/week.

Subscribe Today