PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A law firm employee is accused of embezzling thousands of dollars from the company over 7 year period, according to police and prosecutors.
Lynn Martin, who lives in Oregon City, is charged with four counts of aggravated first-degree theft.
She was charged by way of grand jury indictment. Martin is not an attorney.
Prosecutors were only able to charge for the alleged embezzlement that occurred within the 3 year statute of limitation. Those alleged crimes date back to 2015 and come in worth at least $40,000.
Investigators, however, believe Martin had been stealing from Smith Freed Eberhard, P.C. since 2011. It is estimated that she stole more than $166,000 by inflating her pay using a payroll software.
Smith Freed Eberhard, P.C. is a regional litigation defense firm in Portland with offices in Seattle.
“We have no comment at this time. Once this matter is before the court we may have a statement,” Jeffrey D. Eberhard said in an e-mail.
An arraignment date for Martin has not been set as of Thursday morning. We’ve not heard back from Ivan Karmel, Martin’s criminal defense attorney.
The case was investigated by the Portland Police Bureau’s White Collar Crimes Unit. PPB has tips for businesses and organizations on its website on how to handle and prevent cases of theft.