Woman who embezzled $240,000 from employer placed on rider - East Idaho News
Crime Watch

Woman who embezzled $240,000 from employer placed on rider

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IDAHO FALLS — A judge placed an Idaho Falls woman into a rider program Thursday for embezzling at least $240,000 over several months from her former employer.

District Judge Joel Tingey also gave Sarah Elizabeth Kjar, 24, an underlying prison sentence of two to seven years in case she fails the rider program. Earlier this year, Kjar pleaded guilty to one felony count of grand theft and one felony count of forgery and as part of a plea agreement. In return, prosecutors dismissed additional counts of each charge.

A person placed on a rider is placed into an Idaho Department of Correction facility to receive intensive programming and education. The programming can last up to a year and once an offender completes the rider, the court determines to either place them on probation or sentence them to serve their underlying sentence.

The charges against Kjar stem from October 2018 when the owner of local home builder Castlerock Homes contacted the Idaho Falls Police Department saying Kjar, an accountant for the company, used the business’s credit card for expenses that were not work-related. An outside audit found Kjar completed $96,645 in fraudulent credit card transactions. The audit also revealed $131,377 spread out through 29 checks were also written out to Kjar or her husband and deposited into a Wells Fargo account, according to court documents.

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Police wrote in their reports that the fraudulent checks were created in the company’s QuickBooks and within minutes either voided, deleted or changed. The checks were supposed to go to the vendors but were instead written out to Kjar or her husband. The checks included forged signatures of the owner or were stamped with company logos.

The owner of Castlerock Homes began to suspect Kjar when he received calls from vendors asking when they were going to get paid. He confronted Kjar and he claims she called herself a “trust fund baby” and said she would pay him back for what she spent.

In addition to the sentence, Tingey ordered Kjar to pay $1,300 in fees and fines. Restitution for the money spent will be determined in the future.

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