Borough police on Monday said a woman who worked for a Hellertown flooring store has been charged with allegedly forging and cashing checks from the business.
In a news release, police said Laura Ann Rutherford, 51, of the 300 block of Ninth Street, Sellersville, was employed by Revere Flooring Outlet, 648 Main St., when an investigation began into “allegations of forged checks drafted and cashed by an employee.”
According to a criminal complaint filed Feb. 8 in District Court 03-2-04 in Lower Saucon Township, Rutherford allegedly forged five checks totaling $4,100 between May 2018 and January 2019, when the business’s owner identified “discrepancies…while reviewing finances” and contacted police.
The largest forged check was allegedly for $2,000 and was cashed on May 22, 2018, according to court papers, which say all of the checks were drawn from a QNB account.
Police said in the complaint that owner James G. Dwyer identified Rutherford as the sole employee of Revere Flooring Outlet in Hellertown and told them she “was permitted and had accessibility to draft checks for accounts payable only to be signed by Dwyer prior to issuance.”
According to the complaint, all five of the allegedly forged checks “bore a confirmed forged signature of the victim’s name, James G. Dwyer” and “were…payable to Laura Rutherford.”
At the conclusion of the investigation, police said Rutherford was arrested and charged with felony theft, forgery and receiving stolen property.
During an interview with police at department headquarters, police said Rutherford “openly admitted to drafting unauthorized checks payable to herself and forging James G. Dwyer’s signature without his knowledge before endorsing the checks and receiving funds.”
Police also said in the criminal complaint that Rutherford completed a “voluntary written admission giving a reason for commission of the theft,” although they didn’t identify the reason.
After surrendering to police at District Court 03-2-04 in Lower Saucon Township, police said Rutherford was arraigned on the charges before District Judge Alan Mege and released on $100,000 unsecured bail pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for Feb. 28 at 10:15 a.m.
