Office manager of 10 years charged with embezzling $182,000 after surprise party she threw for boss on company dime sparked audit



Ruth Amen, 46, from Boca Grande was arrested on Monday night

An unauthorized surprise birthday party she threw for one of her bosses at Gulf to Bay Realty backfired into a paper trail of fraudulent transactions



Amen allegedly used nearly $92,000 in company finances to pay personal credit card debt and issued herself 'extra' paychecks totaling $65,000

Had worked there for 10 years

Alleged theft: Ruth Amen, 46, pictured, from Boca Grande was arrested on Monday night after an investigation by the Lee County Sheriff's Office Economic Crimes Unit found she'd stolen close to $182,000 from her company

A Florida office manager is facing embezzlement charges after a surprise birthday party she threw for her boss backfired into a paper trail of fraudulent transactions.

Ruth Amen, 46, from Boca Grande was arrested on Monday night after an investigation by the Lee County Sheriff's Office Economic Crimes Unit found she'd stolen close to $182,000 from her company Gulf to Bay Realty.



Amen was office manager of the Boca Grande business for more than 10 years.

She and was the solely responsible for handling business finances including billing and payroll.



After Amen chose to throw a surprise birthday party for one of her bosses, using company cash without permission, her alleged theft was brought to light, police said.



Following the unauthorized birthday bash, company officials took a closer look at Amen's bookkeeping practices and discovered problems.



They alerted the sheriff's office, and investigators with economic crimes unit sifted through records and determined Amen had stolen a total of $181,674 from the business.

According to police, Amen used nearly $92,000 in company finances to pay personal credit card debt.



She also issued herself 'extra' paychecks totaling $65,000 and failed to deduct the cost of insurance from her paychecks.

Long-time employee: Amen was office manager of Gulf to Bay Realty, pictured, for more than 10 years

Amen was arrested on Monday and charged with grand theft and scheme to defraud, both first degree felonies.



The company, Gulf To Bay Sotheby's International Realty Inc., sells and rents high spec properties in Boca Grande, Sanibel, Captiva, North Captiva and Fort Myers Beach.

