Cheerleader Charged with Embezzlement

A woman who worked as a professional cheerleader for several local Seattle sports franchises has been charged with embezzling over $250,000 from her day job at a construction supply company. According to the Seattle PI, the woman faces 10 counts of felony theft in writing company checks to herself, and using a company credit card for lavish personal shopping expenses.

Construction related companies with heavy machinery or other expensive assets are common businesses for embezzlement charges. Dealing with expensive equipment and a lot of up front costs can often make embezzlement easier to pull off, at least for a while. The dollar values on the books are substantial, so money transfers of 5 and 6 figure sums don’t necessarily stand out as much as they would if you were running a candy store.

Another common theme with embezzlement cases is the person is surprised how easy it was to pull off the first time.  Therefore, to try it again somehow seems reasonable, and pretty soon they feel “entitled” to the extra income and lifestyle enhancements, as deluded as that sounds.

And, of course, this story has captured the public’s attention because of the sensational aspect of the cheerleader angle. Comments over at the PI are running as you would expect, accusing the 22 year old young woman of being selfish, vain, and trading on her looks to create a sense of entitlement, as well as other unsavory speculation.