A Trenton woman is facing 10 to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of stealing more than $2 million, according to Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell.
Alisha Renee King, 39, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated theft, two counts of telecommunications fraud, and one count of forgery, according to Warren County Common Pleas Court documents. She was sentenced on Sept. 25.
King stole a total of $2,025,777 during her time as a bookkeeper for an outdoor lighting company headquartered in Middletown, according to a Facebook post by Fornshell.
Between Aug. 22, 2018, and November 30, 2023, Fornshell said, King stole the money from two of her employers' franchisees in South Carolina and Tennessee by forging checks payable to herself and through
unauthorized credit card transactions. Both franchisees used King's bookkeeping services as part of their franchise agreements.
“This is the most sizeable internal theft case that our office has prosecuted since I became Warren County Prosecutor,” said Fornshell, who was sworn into his role in 2011.
In November 2023 King was caught when another employee at the outdoor lighting company discovered a check for $2,000 on King’s desk, Fornshell said. The unauthorized check was made out to King from the checking account of the South Carolina franchisee.
Tip of the iceberg
That check on King's desk turned out to be the start of a much larger investigation.
- In 2023 alone, Fornshell said King used her access to the South Carolina franchisee’s business accounts to send herself a total of $92,350 through checks.
- Middletown Police found that between 2018 and 2023, King also used her access to the Tennessee franchisee’s business credit card account to make personal purchases totaling $750,727 via PayPal, Venmo, Amazon, and to pay off credit card interest, Fornshell said.
- Police also discovered that in that five-year period, King used her access to the South Carolina franchisee’s business checking account to initiate bank transfers to make payments totaling $1,182,699 to the Tennessee franchisee’s credit card.
With the money, Fornshell said, King purchased concert tickets, clothes, beauty products, kitchen products, rent payments, personal bills, boating items, Visa gift cards, a Louis Vuitton bag, Air Jordan clothes and shoes, an electric guitar, an Apple watch, a vacuum and other items.
King pleaded guilty to five charges and was found guilty on them. She faces a minimum of 10 years to a maximum of 15 years in prison, according to Warren County Common Pleas Court documents. King may receive a hearing where her release is considered, but not before her minimum term of 10 years. King must also pay the South Carolina business $1,275,049.
The Enquirer left a voicemail with King's lawyer, Angela Glaser, but did not immeditately get a response.
“Although King was ordered to pay restitution, given the dollars involved, King could work the rest of her life and not make a dent in what she stole from these victims. For those who say that non-violent offenders should not go to prison, Exhibit 1 against that argument is Alisha King," Fornshell said.
This report may be udpated.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Warren County woman found guilty of $2 million in theft since 2011
