FARGO (KFGO) – A West Fargo woman is charged with theft after being accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from her Fargo employer between 2015 and early 2022.
According to court records, Mary Peterson was in charge of making cash deposits for Lunde Auto until she was fired in 2022. Her firing came after the general manager learned she had embezzled nearly $830,000 over seven years.
The theft came to light in January 2022 when the company’s accounting firm realized a large amount of money was missing from a bank account. An accountant suspected Peterson was stealing from the company after an email exchange with her over a $450 discrepancy.
The general manager hired a separate accounting firm to conduct an investigation. That firm found that Peterson would alter copies of bank statements to cover up the theft.
According to court records Peterson texted the general manager after she was fired asking him to wait to file a complaint until after her kids graduated.
“[After that] you could string me up in the service drive and use me as a pinata,” she wrote.
Peterson said she made deposits into her bank account, “little by little,” in $4,000-$5,000 amounts to avoid setting off any banking red flags.
Peterson told investigators she has a gambling problem and used the money for online gambling, lottery tickets, bingo, and daily expenses. She says mental anguish pushed her to steal the money.
Peterson said it ended when she was caught because she “fudged” the numbers and was fired.
Peterson is being held in the Cass County Jail on $100,000 bond.
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