Detectives from the Economic Crimes Unit of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office apprehended a Clearwater woman on charges of Scheme to Defraud.
The suspect, Monika Hladik, a 41-year-old Managerial Accountant at Inspecs USA, allegedly engaged in a long-running embezzlement scheme.
The investigation was initiated in December 2022 following a complaint from the president of Inspecs USA, an eyewear manufacturing company based in Palm Harbor.
According to the complaint, Hladik had been writing company checks to herself and forging the president’s signature. Despite her twelve-year tenure with the company, Hladik was never authorized to sign checks or issue them to herself.
Detectives discovered that Hladik had written a staggering 232 checks to herself between 2016 and 2022. These checks, totaling approximately $710,531.00, were deposited into her Wells Fargo bank account. Hladik also manipulated accounting entries in QuickBooks over several years to conceal her actions.
She also excluded herself from the company 401K payback plan, which resulted in the business paying additional funds for what should have been automatically deducted from her paycheck. This resulted in an additional loss of $4,408.32, for a total loss of $714,939.35.
She was fired in December 2022 when questioned by executive staff. He reportedly stated she was “borrowing the money for her mother’s medical bills.”
Monika Hladik was arrested on March 14, 2024, and now faces one count of Scheme to Defraud.