Bellingham bookkeeper allegedly embezzles nearly $314,000 from company over 6 years
The bookkeeper of a Bellingham custom food processing and handling equipment manufacturer is believed to have embezzled nearly $314,000 in company funds during the past six years.
Jarin Lee Sliger, 53, turned herself in to police Wednesday, April 22, and was booked into Whatcom County Jail on suspicion of six counts of first-degree theft and three counts of second-degree theft. Jail records show Sliger was released the same day.
The owner of Coastline Equipment, Inc., contacted the Bellingham Police Department on Feb. 24 to report a theft, Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email. The owner believed the theft had been committed by Sliger, who had overseen the company’s accounts payable and payroll for 20 years.
The theft was discovered during an audit performed in February, Murphy reported, and Coastline Equipment provided investigators documentation that showed checks were issued to banks and other establishments that did not match vendor records Sliger had kept in accounting software.
The thefts dated to 2014, and all were unauthorized and issued by Sliger, who had access to the owner’s electronic signature, Murphy reported.
Investigators found Sliger deposited or made cumulative payments of more than $5,000 into six accounts using Coastline Equipment’s money for her benefit, Murphy wrote. For example, Murphy reported Sliger used a gas card between March 2014 and February 2020 for a total of $20,363.80.
Investigators also found Sliger deposited between $750 and $5,000 of Coastline Equipment’s money for her benefit or that of a family member on three other occasions, Murphy wrote.
All told, Murphy reported investigators found Sliger embezzled $313,935.03.
