ELKO – An Elko woman has been charged with embezzlement and forgery that allegedly siphoned away more than $7,000 from a local theater company.
Anne R. Kufeld, 38, faces charges of embezzlement or theft of an amount greater than $3,500; and seven counts of forgery.
According to court documents, Kufeld served as treasurer of the Elko Overland Stage Theatre Company and is accused of transferring money to the High Desert Dance Company, which she co-owned.
The dance company’s co-owner reported the transactions to officers in the theater company, after which the Elko Police Department opened an investigation. Police identified checks totaling $7,700 that had forged signatures or initials of the theater company’s president.
Police were also told that Kufeld was in charge of ticket sales at the theater company’s plays, including counting the money and depositing it into an account. They reviewed deposits from shows performed between November 2013 and August 2017, and found “several where the deposits do not seem to match the amount of tickets that were sold.”
Police interviewed Kufeld in May 2018, when she reportedly admitted signing the theater company president’s name on some checks. One was used to pay for a storage unit for her dance company.
Police said Kufeld told them “she would embellish the ticket sales on the shows to show higher ticket sales in order to make it look like they had larger attendance.” The cash would be used “to pay for bills” and not be deposited in her account.
A complaint was filed against Kufeld in October by the Elko District Attorney’s Office. She was booked and released Tuesday on the charges.
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