Investigation leads to embezzlement arrest

A nearly year-long investigation has led to the arrest of a local woman suspected of embezzlement.

As stated in a Nye County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, prepared by investigator Cory Fowles, the sheriff’s office opened the investigation back in July of 2020, after the officials from Two Star Towing in Pahrump suspected an employee, identified as Jennifer Walker, of allegedly stealing more than $100,000 from the business.

“Two Star Towing reported that its office manager, Jennifer Walker, embezzled over $100,000 from his company between June of 2016, when she was hired, and July 2020, when she was terminated,” Fowles’ report stated.

“As his office manager, Walker was responsible for and entrusted with entering payroll every two weeks for employees’ hours worked, and arranging for employees to be issued paychecks, based on their hourly pay rate,” according to the report. “Walker was also entrusted with, and responsible for paying the company’s bills and was given access to the company’s bank account, credit card, and debit cards. These were Walker’s job responsibilities throughout her tenure at Two Star Towing. The owner explained that he terminated Walker in July of 2020.”

The discovery

Additionally, the report stated that the owner hired a new office manager to replace Walker in July of 2020.

“The new office manager discovered that Walker had altered her pay rate every two weeks for the last four years, resulting in approximately $100,000 in embezzlement,” Fowles noted in the report. “The owner also stated that Walker inflated her bi-weekly paychecks to three and four times her normal paycheck. I observed payroll records that corroborated the statements.”

Reviewing possible evidence

Fowles also stated that he examined bank statements for the year 2020.

“I observed charges for hotels, renter’s insurance, and other unauthorized charges and purchases,” Fowles noted in the report. “The owner suspected that Walker used his company bank account to pay her personal bills for hotel rooms, vacations and renter’s insurance.”

Following the initial investigation, Walker was arrested on suspicion of embezzlement, $100,000 or greater on March 18.

It should be noted that the Pahrump Valley Times just recently received the information on Walker’s arrest from the sheriff’s office.

The Nye County district attorney’s office has not yet filed formal criminal charges against Walker, according to Pahrump Justice Court.

The owner of Two Star Towing declined to comment on the matter.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes