Deputies arrested a Palm Beach County bookkeeper Saturday on accusations of stealing money from her employer to pay for a new vehicle.
Erma Rios, 26, of suburban West Palm Beach, wrote and signed company checks to purchase a Land Rover from a dealership, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office report.
Rios’ boss reported more than $35,000 missing from the bank account of his Palm Beach Gardens business in January 2017.
Bank records show Rios, a bookkeeper at the business, allegedly wrote out two checks to a used car dealership in December 2016.
The first check written out by Rios was a $10,000 down payment addressed to the used car dealership for a 2011 Land Rover, an arrest report states. The second check was written out a few weeks later as a final payment to the car dealership for $26,000.
Deputies interviewing a car salesman report him saying he sold the vehicle to Rios. He said she wrote and signed the checks, and then presented them to his as payment, he said in the report.
Court records show a warrant for Rios arrest was signed in April 2017.
One year later, she was arrested and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail. Rios was released Sunday on her own recognizance.