A Geneva woman has been indicted on charges she stole more than $500,000 from a St. Charles veterinary clinic over the course of 16 years.
A Kane County grand jury indicted 52-year-old Martha P. Strauss on two felony theft counts involving between $500,000 and $1 million. Strauss has been free on a personal recognizance bond since her May arrest by St. Charles police on theft charges initially stated to be between $100,000 and $500,000.
An investigation started in December after a clinic employee reported a theft to police.
The charges cover a range of time from 1999 through August 2015 and allege Strauss wrote fraudulent checks on clinic accounts and deposited them into her personal account. Strauss served as the clinic’s office manager, but was no longer working there at the time of her arrest, police said.
Prosecutors have not stated the total amount alleged to be involved in the thefts or what new information arose which changed the range of figures included in the indictment.
Strauss is scheduled to return to court Oct. 13 at which time she could be formally arraigned on the charges.
Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News