A former employee of a local car dealership pleaded guilty Monday in Garland County Circuit Court to felony charges after embezzling over $17,000 from the business last year.
Janet Christine Stair, 67, formerly of Hot Springs but now listing a Malvern address, pleaded guilty to theft of property over $5,000 and was sentenced to eight years' probation, and to computer fraud and was sentenced to six years' probation, with the sentences to run concurrently. She was also fined $1,500 and ordered to pay $440 in court costs.
Stair, who lists no prior felony history, was arrested on March 29 and released later that day on a $7,500 bond. She had pleaded not guilty to the charges on June 17 and was set to stand trial on Dec. 3.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Sept. 13, 2018, Paul Riser, with Riser Dodge Chrysler, 4722 Central Ave., reported an employee, identified as Stair, was taking cash customers paid toward their service work on their tickets.
Stair would then change the tickets from "cash" to "warranty," and modify the service performed on the ticket so Chrysler/Dodge Manufacturer would cover it under warranty and pay the dealership for the fabricated service.
She would also change the vehicle identification number, vehicle year and description on the tickets so the company would pay for the fabricated warranty work and the vehicle would still be under the warranty programs.
Between February 2018 and Sept. 6, 2018, Stair stole $17,090.72 in cash from the dealership and in turn produced fabricated warranty tickets so Chrysler/Dodge paid $11,838.79 to the dealership.
Riser provided documentation of the customer tickets showing where they paid cash and then the ticket was modified by Stair using her personal employee login to the warranty ticket. The modified ticket was then submitted to Chrysler/Dodge by Stair in "an attempt to gain back some, but not all the money she took from the company."
A warrant for her arrest on the two felony counts was issued on Dec. 19, 2018.
Local on 11/21/2019