Woman accused of embezzling $200,000 from gun shop
BY STEVE E. SWENSON, Californian staff writer sswenson@bakersfield.com
Of businesses to embezzle from, a gun dealer would seem to be low on the list.
But the former bookkeeper for Second Amendment Sports is accused of stealing more than $200,000 from the Oildale business, a search warrant alleges.
Joylene McAvoy, 33, faces one count of grand theft with a hearing set for Monday, according to the Kern County Superior Court website.
Matthew Janes, the owner of the business, told sheriff's deputies he had "total trust" in McAvoy until the new bookkeeper who replaced her began finding irregularities.
McAvoy worked for Second Amendment Sports from January 2007 to December, 2008.
She left the business to start her own company which she was going to name "A Shining Light."
But not long after she quit, vendors started calling the business asking for their money.
A search warrant says McAvoy would write a large check to a vendor, but before she sent the check, she would change the payee on the check to her own.
The warrant said she wrote 11 checks worth more than $110,000 that way.
It also said it was believed McAvoy used another system to divert money to herself, but court documents did not detail the specifics on that system.
A sheriff's investigator asked to look at her bank accounts, saying that she stole more than $200,000 from the business.
McAvoy declined to speak to the investigator, referring questions to her attorney.
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