Investigators arrested Pamela Efraimov, 39, on charges of grand larceny, forgery and falsifying records.
Authorities say Efraimov was employed as the personal assistant and bookkeeper to the president/owner of Katherine Bishop, Ltd., a woman's apparel wholesaler from 2005 to 2012. After her boss's death in June 2010, his widow kept Efraimov on so she could close the books on the business.
Efraimov also assisted the widow with the bookkeeping for The Nicholas Center for Autism and Spectrum Designs Foundation, a non-profit the widow founded.
Investigators say she began noticing some irregularities with the cash deposits for the Foundation last Semptember and checks being written for Katherine Bishop were bouncing. The widow confronted Efraimov and fired her in October 2012.
An immediate audit discovered that Efraimov had instructed the bank to stop sending paper statements, and that she had altered 64 checks from January 2011 to September 2012 to hide that she had written the checks to herself, totaling more than $150,000.
Efraimov allegedly made unauthorized transfers from the Katherine Bishop account to her personal bank accounts totaling more than $10,000, forged the widow's signature on 73 checks totaling more than $45,000, and used the Katherine Bishop account to make online payments to her personal credit cards.
Efraimov also used the cash to purchase luxury goods like Prada boots, Louis Vuitton handbags, and King Baby jewelry, prosecutors said.
She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
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