ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – A woman is facing fraud charges after a two-month-long investigation regarding an Anderson County furniture store.
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office said 46-year-old Maria Hamma is accused of embezzling more than $200,000 using at least six methods to defraud Furniture from High Point LLC.
According to its website , the store sources all its furniture from high-end retailers in the High Point area.
Detectives reported that two years’ worth of documents and bank statements revealed that Hamma allegedly stole from the company’s cash register, used the company’s credit card for $30,000 worth of personal expenses, forged numerous timecards and wrote herself a bonus check amounting to almost $6,000.
“When she [Hamma] was adding to the timecard, we’re talking 800 hours that were added over the course of two years,” Detective Tyler Brown said.
“Every time I thought we were getting close to the end, something else would pop up.”
It was reported that Hamma was able to finance two three-week-long European vacations as a result of the fraudulent activities. Detectives also found that Hamma forged contracts posing as the business owner.