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South Carolina woman accused of embezzling $215,000 from employer

A South Carolina woman is facing fraud charges after authorities say she took more than $215,000 from the furniture store she worked for and took two European vacations.

Maria Hamma, 46, worked at Furniture from High Point, a furniture store in Anderson, the Anderson County Sheriff's Office said in an Oct. 25 news release.

According to the sheriff's office, the store owner noticed discrepancies with the company's records and asked detectives to investigate.

The sheriff's office said she embezzled the money in at least six different ways, including stealing from the company's cash register, using the company credit card to pay $30,000 in personal expenses and writing a bonus check for nearly $6,000 -Dollar.

Authorities accused her of using company funds to finance two three-week trips to Europe.

The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment. On Tuesday morning it was unclear who represented Hamma.

Sheriff's Office: Woman forged time cards, logged over 800 hours of work

According to the sheriff's office, Hamma also forged time cards to make it appear that she worked more than she actually did.

“When she added to the time card, we were talking about 800 hours added over the course of two years,” Detective Tyler Brown said in the news release. “Every time I thought we were getting close to the end, something else popped up.”

Authorities also said she posed as the owner of the furniture store and falsified contracts, causing the store to lose just over $215,000.

According to the sheriff's office, investigators spent two months reviewing documents and bank statements to figure out what happened.

Hamma was charged with breach of trust, forgery and computer crime. The charges against the woman are considered a felony, the sheriff's office confirmed to USA TODAY. Computer crime is punishable by up to five years in prison, while the other two counts are punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

She was taken into custody but then released on $15,000 bail.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at @SaleenMartin or send her an email at [email protected].

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