Meridian woman accused of ordering $1.5M in unwanted items for her previous employer

MERIDIAN (Idaho Statesman) – A Meridian woman was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of ordering around $1.5 million worth of unwanted goods for a medical company that had terminated her employment, according to a news release from the Garden City Police Department.

Police began an investigation after Miracle Ear, a hearing aid company with a store in Garden City, reported on Feb. 1 that a “recently terminated employee” had used company accounts to order around $1.5 million of “un-needed” items for the company’s offices from Staples.

“Toilet paper, tissues, to office equipment, to desks, to stand-up partitions, it just went on and on,” Detective Sgt. Tyler Domeny told the Idaho Statesman by phone. Numerous orders are alleged to have been made by the employee, who still had access to the company’s vendors.

The unwanted purchases were made with the company’s accounts after the suspect was fired from her job the last week of January, Domeny said. The company was able to stop the majority of the orders and is in the process of trying to return the other items, police said.

Digital forensic evidence related to the alleged crimes will be sent for analysis, Domeny said.

Detectives with Garden City Police investigated, and on Thursday the 32-year-old was arraigned on charges of felony grand theft and misdemeanor stalking.

The suspect is alleged to have sent an email to the store’s owner that was perceived as threatening, said Tatianna Herrera, of the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office, at the arraignment.

On Thursday, Magistrate Judge Michael Dean issued a no-contact order and set bond at $100,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 28.