Former accounts-payable clerk at a local pharmaceutical company allegedly took $143,759 by writing herself checks.
By: Joseph Harvie
A 54-year-old woman is awaiting extradition to New Jersey from Lawrence County, Pa., after being charged Tuesday with theft, fraud and issuing false financial statements for allegedly stealing $143,759 from a pharmaceutical company in South Brunswick, police said.
Rebecca Kauffman, formerly of Ewing, worked as an accounts-payable clerk at the pharmaceutical company, which police would not identify, for about a year between September 2005 and 2006, South Brunswick police spokesman Detective James Ryan said.
During that time, she allegedly used her position to write 20 fraudulent checks made out to herself, Detective Ryan said. All of the checks were for amounts less than $9,000 so they would not require a second signature, Detective Ryan said.
The fraudulent checks were discovered during the company’s annual audit, which was done during the first week in December, Detective Ryan said.
However, Ms. Kauffman left the company in September, Detective Ryan said. He said that Ms. Kauffman asked for some time off to care for an ill relative in Florida, and after two weeks the company was not able to contact her. The company then sent a certified letter to the woman’s Ewing home and discovered she didn’t live there anymore, Detective Ryan said.
During the audit, two fraudulent checks were discovered and the police were contacted, Detective Ryan said. The auditors found 18 additional checks made out to Ms. Kauffman, dated between March and September, Detective Ryan said.
Detective Ryan said that Ms. Kauffman hid the thefts by recording that they were actually paid to a legitimate invoice.
Police were unsure of Ms. Kauffman’s whereabouts until she recently filed for New Jersey unemployment, which contacted the pharmaceutical company, which in turn contacted the South Brunswick police, Detective Ryan said.
It was at that time that police discovered she was renting house in New Castle, Pa., about one hour from the Ohio border, Detective Ryan said.
An officer from the Shenango Township Police Department took Ms. Kauffman into custody Tuesday without incident, and police said that Ms. Kauffman was surprised that they had found her.
Ms. Kauffman is being held in the Lawrence County Correction Center in Pennsylvania on $100,000 bail, as a fugitive from justice, Detective Ryan said. Investigators from the South Brunswick will travel Lawrence County in the coming days to start extradition procedures, Detective Ryan said.
He said that Ms. Kauffman could be brought back to New Jersey as soon as Friday, but if she fights extradition, police would need to get a governor’s warrant signed by Gov. Jon Corzine, which could take up to 30 days.

