Woman accused of stealing more than $100,000 from Harrisburg trucking company where she worked

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    DAUPHIN COUNTY, PA (WPMT) — Swatara Township Police have charged a 45-year-old Harrisburg woman with stealing more than $100,000 from the trucking company where she worked.

Jennifer Lynn Garland, of the 300 block of North 50th St., is charged with forgery, theft by unlawful taking, unlawful use of a computer, and tampering with records related to the alleged embezzlement of more than $100,000 in funds from M&D Trucking, located on the 7400 block of Paxton Street in Harrisburg, according to a criminal complaint filed Jan. 21 by Swatara Township Police.

Police began investigating on Jan. 6, when the owners of the business first reported the suspected crime.

According to police, M&D Trucking co-owners Mark Eppley and Dennis Landi contacted police after Landi, who had retired four years ago, returned at Eppley’s request to assist in investigating discrepancies Eppley had found in Garland’s timecard and payroll records.

Garland worked for the company as Eppley’s secretary, police say.

Eppley told police he began looking into Garland’s time card and payroll records after she had numerous call-offs for sickness and personal time, the complaint states.

When he began checking the records, Eppley said, he discovered he could not access the company’s checking account information, because he had been locked out of the system. He then asked Landi to come out of retirement to open the company’s accounting books, because Landi had done all the company’s finances prior his retirement and still had access codes for the system, he told police.

After accessing the system and researching timecard and payroll records, police say, Landi found that Garland had been falsifying her time card to make it appear that she had been working more hours per week than she had actually been working. Landi told police he also found that Garland had given herself three raises over the last few months, boosting her pay rate from $19 per hour to $22 per hour, the complaint says.

In addition, police allege, Landi discovered Garland had been submitting extra hours of personal time not allotted to her and was getting paid for extra vacation days and sick time.

Landi told police he also found that Garland had written several checks to herself from the company checkbook, deposited them into her own account, and altered company records to say the checks had been written to suppliers for materials that had never actually been purchased, according to the complaint.

As of Jan. 16, police say, Landi and Eppley found that at least $100,000 in company funds was missing. That number is expected to rise as the investigation continues, according to police.

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