Whatcom accountant allegedly steals more than $215,000 from area business and owner
A Lynden accountant is suspected of stealing more than $215,000 from a Whatcom County electrical design and service company and the personal accounts of its owner over the past five years.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office booked Tiffany Lynn Anderson, 37, into Whatcom County Jail Tuesday, April 13, on suspicion of first-degree theft and forgery. Jail records show Anderson was released on personal recognizance later Tuesday.
Deputies were contacted Oct. 16, 2020, by the owner of Lightning Electric in Bellingham to report that approximately $30,000 had been stolen from him, according to Whatcom County Superior Court records.
The owner told deputies that he hired Anderson as a bookkeeper/accountant for the business before moving out of the area approximately three years ago and leaving Anderson in charge of the business finances, court records state. Anderson also was reportedly responsible for some of the owner’s personal bills and was left some signed checks to pay those.
The owner also told deputies that he became suspicious of Anderson when he noticed “strange activity” on his personal accounts, records show. He reportedly looked into the accounts and found Anderson had been making the signed checks out to herself and not paying his bills and using his personal account to make online purchases.
The owner also found that Anderson had transferred money from his personal account into her account and that between Jan. 21, 2017, and Sept. 30, 2020, approximately $74,000 had been taken from his account, according to documents. The owner also reportedly suspected Anderson had transferred money from the business account, and he couldn’t account for approximately $43,000 worth of rent Anderson was responsible for collecting.
According to court documents, the sheriff’s office’s investigation revealed:
▪ Anderson put her name in the “pay to the order of” line on 31 signed checks from the owner’s personal account from Aug. 15, 2017, to Aug. 20, 2020, and either cashed or deposited them into her own account. The checks totaled $54,919.
▪ Anderson began transferring money from the owner’s personal account to one owned by herself and her husband on Dec. 6, 2016. Through 2020, she transferred another $68,315.25 (a total of $123,234.25 from the owner’s personal account).
▪ Anderson transferred $12,997.04 from the business account to pay her own personal bills.
▪ Anderson was responsible for $43,200 in missing rent money from the business.
▪ Anderson, who was supposed to receive a 0.5% commission on sales, overpaid herself $36,472.59 in commission in 2019 and 2020 combined.
▪ All told, deputies found Anderson was responsible for taking $215,903.88 from the owner’s and business accounts.
