Hobart woman wrote checks off employer’s bank account
By Christin Nance Lazerus cnance@post-trib.com January 11, 2013 10:08AM
Updated: February 13, 2013 6:06AM
A Hobart woman faces forgery and theft charges after an audit revealed she wrote 38 checks totaling more than $129,000 from her Merrillville employer’s account.
Connie Smith-Passon, 45, is charged with forgery and theft, both Class C felonies.
Smith-Passon was employed at insurance company American Inter-Fidelity Exchange. An audit revealed that a supplemental vehicle damage claim check, in the amount of $4,000, was issued a month after the claim was paid and closed in October 2011.
The owner of the vehicle didn’t received the check and there wasn’t any further damage to justify the check. The check had a notation on it that read “Ok, Ms. Connie,” according to the affidavit. Smith-Passon could not explain the situation when her supervisors confronted her. The company continued the audit, which revealed 37 additional fraudulent checks totaling $125,606 between June 1, 2011, and May 31, 2012.
