Anthony vitamin shop worker who posed as cop allegedly stole $640k and spent it on women, drugs and travel

ANTHONY, New Mexico -- A married Anthony vitamin shop employee who lives in a "rundown mobile home" and claimed to be a police officer is accused of embezzling over $640,000 and spending the funds to wine and dine girlfriends on the side, take lavish trips to Las Vegas and elsewhere as well as purchase illicit drugs to feed his cocaine habit, according to court documents obtained by ABC-7.

The documents also allege that the man just gave away some of the pilfered proceeds to friends as gifts of his largess.

Robert Lonsinger, 31, is charged with 69 counts of forgery and was being held Tuesday in the Doña Ana County Detention Center without bond while awaiting arraignment.

Investigators with the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office contend that Lonsinger stole 69 business checks from his employer, which he then fraudulently wrote to himself and deposited into a personal bank account between August 2017 and March 2019.

The court documents indicate Lonsinger would allegedly deposit the checks into a bank in Anthony and then drive to a Las Cruces branch to withdraw the money and pocket the cash. The amount of each of the checks typically ranged between $8,000 and $9,000, a sheriff's detective outlined.

"I took all the money," Lonsinger reportedly admitted to detectives when they searched his dilapidated double-wide mobile home looking for any cash he might have stashed away. Instead, the court documents say, authorities found a large porn collection as well as expensive designer clothing and shoes, inventory taken from the vitamin shop and additional blank checks from the business.

In later interviews with detectives, Lonsinger is said to have admitted lying to his wife about being an Albuquerque police officer. He reportedly said he used that claim as a cover story in order to travel and party with other women. He also reportedly admitted to having a cocaine addiction and asked investigators not to tell his wife about his "girlfriends" - but he was informed it was too late because she already knew of his deception.