Charlotte County woman arrested for embezzlement of over $200K

Writer: Nicholas Karsen
Published: Updated:

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a former assistant to a real estate businessman, accused of embezzling funds of over $200,000 from his company.

Deputies arrested Kristina Nicole Parrish, 40, on Thursday after Bruce Laishley filed a report about the preparation of going through tax records, discovering that the former assistant had fraudulently used a large amount of funds.

Parrish had worked for the Punta Gorda businessman for around two years before being fired for her excessive leave from work.

After her termination, Laishley and his current assistant, Brandilyn Laishley, began to notice unauthorized transactions made by Parrish totaling $200,434.19.

According to CCSO, additional amounts and her use of the victim’s American Express personal account had been located.

While being interviewed by deputies, Laishley stated that while Parrish was working as an assistant, she had access to Laishley USA’s Bank of the Ozark account as well as Laishley’s personal American Express card.

He reiterated that she was only an authorized signatory for Laishley USA and none of his other companies and was only an authorized signatory on his American Express card, with the strict understanding that she was only allowed to write checks and make payments on behalf of the company.

According to Laishley, Parrish held a firm grasp on the finances, not allowing another person to witness the company’s transaction history.

CCSO reports that once Laishley noticed some job-related tasks were incomplete, he offered to hire another assistant to aid Parrish.

According to Laishley, Parrish objected, claiming that an additional person was “unnecessary.”

After her termination, Laishley and his daughter noticed the misappropriation of funds, leading back to Parrish.

After being asked to present a detailed transaction list to deputies, it was discovered that Parrish had allegedly used the funds for her personal use.

An investigation was conducted, and after a year of gathering enough evidence, deputies asked Parrish to meet with deputies at CCSO headquarters.

After being presented with the evidence, Parrish surrendered to deputies, who transported her to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office Jail.

Parrish was arrested and charged with first-degree grand theft of $100K or more.

We reached out to Laishley for a statement, and he told us he won’t be making a comment at this time.

As for CCSO, they said this is still an open and active investigation.

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