Alamogordo woman gets 9 years in prison after embezzling $84K from renowned pistachio retailer

ALAMOGORDO, New Mexico – An Alamogordo woman was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison after she was convicted of embezzling more than $80,000 from a well-known pistachio retailer.

According to John Sugg, district attorney for Otero and Lincoln counties, Jennifer Najar, 44, was a “trusted employee” who worked her way up from clerk to manager at McGinn’s Pistachio Land in Alamogordo.

In January 2019, the store conducted a daily sales review and discovered a discrepancy.

Total credit card sales for the day totaled more than the net sales for the day.

After reviewing video surveillance from the store, Najar could be seen removing cash from the register and placing it in an envelope behind the counter.

The McGinns confronted her, and she reportedly confessed.

The store’s owners then contacted the DA’s office and asked them to look into the matter.

Through bank records and video surveillance, it was determined that Najar embezzled at least $84,000.

Upon her release from prison, she will be required to serve two years of parole and five years of supervised probation. She is also being asked to repay what she stole in full.