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Woman facing felony theft count

WELCOME — A Welcome woman is facing a felony charge in Martin County.

Lori Loann Hargrove, 43, has been charged with theft of property having a value in excess of $5,000, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

According to the complaint:

On Aug. 13, a Truman police officer met with a man who indicated he and two other partners own a business in Truman. The man said that on Dec. 19, 2016, they had hired Hargrove as a financial controller for the business. He said that everything was fine until 2017, when the owners noticed the business cash flow was low, resulting in them having to secure a high-interest loan.

The man said that in June 2018 he and his partners conducted an internal investigation into the finances of the business. He said the first thing they noticed was the company’s phone and internet bill was listed at $5,800, but when Hargrove provided a printout report, the bill had dropped to $4,800. The man said they immediately noticed problems in Hargrove’s conduct as financial controller.

The man said they noticed that Hargrove had given herself two unauthorized pay raises totaling $10,400 in 2018; she had used the business account to make her personal car payment two times for a total of $986.75; and she had used the business bank account to pay her stated and federal income taxes. He said they also noticed that Hargrove had used the business bank account to pay her personal credit card bills.

The man said that in August and September 2017, Hargrove hired the business to remodel her home in Welcome. He said they noticed Hargrove billed out the labor of the remodel at a reduced rate, lower than actual cost. He said Hargrove also purchased materials for the remodel of her home from Lowes, paying for the materials with business checks and then never billing the cost to herself.

The man said they also noticed Hargrove had double paid herself for a weekly paycheck as the check had cleared the bank but had been deleted from their accounting software. He said Hargrove also had increased her vacation amount without authority.

The man said they met with Hargrove on July 5 and questioned her about the finances. She admitted she was behind on her bills and had used company money to pay them. When confronted about the car payment, Hargrove said she made mistakes and meant to pay the money back.

When questioned about the billing on the remodel of her home, Hargrove said she billed the amount at a reduced rate because she believed some of the contractors were “milking hours.”

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