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SALT LAKE CITY — A Kearns woman already charged with forging checks from a local trucking company now faces charges for allegedly illegally billing customers of another company.
Ana Karen Garcia, 26, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with communications fraud, a second-degree felony.
Garcia was hired by the Les Olson Co. in South Salt Lake in May 2015. Her duties included calling customers and scheduling maintenance times on their copy machines, according to charging documents.
Prosecutors, however, say Garcia created a PayPal account and then sent customers fake invoices and billing statements. She collected about $10,000 from at least four companies, according to charging documents.
During their investigation, detectives also found an email on Garcia's work computer where she talks with another woman about "being desperate and needing to rob a bank," charges state.
"At some point in November of 2016, (Garcia) left work from Les Olson and never returned," according to charging documents.
Garcia was previously charged Feb. 21 in 3rd District Court with theft by deception, a second-degree felony; three counts of forgery, a third-degree felony; and six counts of possession of a forgery device, a third-degree felony.
In that case, Garcia is accused of forging and cashing approximately $22,000 in company checks while working for Mortensen Trucking.
During a search of Garcia's house, investigators found about $19,000 in cash in a purse, as well as seven filled-out checks that hadn't been cashed, two blank checks and seven checks from Wells Fargo in another purse, charges state.
According to court records, Garcia was convicted in 2013 of wrongful appropriation, a third-degree felony. In that case, Garcia worked for an orthodontist in West Valley City and would bill in full customers who were supposed to get a discount, and then pocket the extra money, according to charging documents.
She was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay restitution.
