Woman Gets Probation in Embezzlement Case
A former bookkeeper was sentenced Tuesday to five years probation and 108 hours of community service for embezzling $218,000 from the Woodland Hills leasing firm where she worked.
Sandra Kay Marra, 50, of Simi Valley pleaded guilty to one count of forgery with intent to defraud at an earlier hearing in Van Nuys Superior Court.
As part of a plea bargain, Marra agreed to pay back $100,000 to her former employer, Martin Leasing, in return for a sentence of probation, authorities said. Marra paid the first installment of $50,000 Tuesday, with the remainder of the money due April 18, said Derek Smith, general manager of the car leasing firm.
Marra worked at the business in the 21500 block of Ventura Boulevard from November, 1981, to September, according to court documents.
Smith said that after the defendant quit her job, another bookkeeper conducted an audit and found that Marra had been altering checks and making them payable to herself.
Marra told authorities that she and her family had been having financial problems and that she took the money to pay bills.
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