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Accused Embezzler Annette Yeomans Faces Additional Charges
March 28, 2009Annette Yeomans Accused Of Embezzling Nearly $10 Million
VISTA, Calif. -- More charges were filed Friday against Annette Yeomans, a former bookkeeper who allegedly embezzled at least $9.9 million over seven years from the North County custom woodworking company where she worked.
Annette Yeomans, who is being held on $10 million bail, had been charged with 20 felony counts of embezzlement and grand theft prior to Friday's hearing before Judge Robert Kearney.
Deputy District Attorney Anna Winn added 46 counts of forging checks, three of filing false state tax returns and one of illegal use of a credit card against the 51-year-old defendant.
At a previous court hearing, the prosecutor alleged that from 2001 to 2007, Yeomans wrote 582 checks totaling more than $8.7 million on the business accounts of Quality Woodworks Inc. of San Marcos, where she worked for about 15 years.
The defendant would make out some of the checks to herself and cash them at ATMs and casinos, Winn alleged.
"All of (the checks) are for huge amounts," Winn said.
Of the checks cited on the amended criminal complaint, nearly all of them are for more than $20,000, the prosecutor said.
The largest is for $26,092.43 to First USA Bank in 2002 to pay off a credit card, she said. Other checks were made out to Chase Bank, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Citi Bank. Others were to herself, she said.
Affidavits filed in support of an arrest warrant allege Yeomans spent most of the money gambling at casinos, buying clothing, jewelry and cars, and taking trips to New York, Las Vegas and Europe.
The defendant's husband, John, was a cabinet installer at Quality Woodworks, according to court records. He is not charged with any crimes.
The alleged thefts came to light about a year ago, when a credit card company notified Quality Woodworks about numerous suspicious payments to the defendant's account made with company checks, sheriff's Sgt. Mark Varnau said.
Yeomans allegedly charged $25,000 a week on her credit cards and then paid off the balance the following Monday with company funds.
She allegedly used the embezzled money to finance purchases of luxury vehicles, shopping trips to Italy and home remodeling projects, including a conversion of one of her bedrooms into a closet to store her large, lavish wardrobe.
Her clothing collection included 400 pairs of shoes valued at $600 each, $300,000 worth of designer garments and 160 purses valued at $2,000 each, investigators allege.
The losses forced Quality Woodworks to forego employee raises, lay off some workers and restructure its operations, authorities said.
The company sued Yeomans and her husband, claiming losses of more than $7 million, according to court records.
Authorities also say she cheated on her taxes, resulting in the three tax fraud charges.
"We're alleging she didn't put all her income on her tax returns," Winn said.
The complexity of the criminal investigation caused the yearlong delay in arresting Yeomans, according to Varnau.
The judge set another readiness conference for May 7 and a preliminary hearing for May 19.
Annette Yeomans is probably wondering if it was all worth it. Hopefully she will never perpetrate such a crime again. Return to San Diego Local News Roundup
