Woman Charged with Stealing $240,000 from Woodbury Employer

A Cottage Grove woman has been charged with stealing more than $240,000 from a Woodbury business while working as its account manager.

Carol Ann Scott, 47, is charged with felony theft, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, a Woodbury police detective was notified in early September of an employee theft from the Oral Surgery Center.

The company’s office manager told police the business’ main office is located in Woodbury, but the company has a number of satellite offices in Minnesota and Wisconsin. All of the company’s cash payments were handled by the office manager and by Scott, who worked as the company’s account manager.

Whenever the company had a cash deposit, the office manager filled out a deposit slip, and it was Scott’s responsibility to deposit the cash. An internal audit revealed that between February 2011 and May 2013, approximately 40 cash deposits never made it to the bank, according to the complaint.

In early May, Scott told a doctor that she had been taking the cash deposits for two years. She also admitted to the thefts in an e-mail to the office manager, and she was subsequently fired.

The office manager cleaned Scott’s office after she was fired, and discovered a win-loss sheet from Treasure Island casino, dated Feb. 2, 2013. The report detailed Scott’s winnings and losses between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2012: $8,879 in winnings and $30,521 in losses, according to the complaint.

Investigators determined that Scott stole $240,207 from the Oral Surgery Center, the complaint charges.

Scott has been released from custody on her promise to make all future court appearances. She is scheduled to make an initial appearance on the charge Feb. 13 in Washington County District Court.