Staff Report (updated 11:20 am)
Karen Goppert of Fulton is already awaiting trial for allegedly stealing more than $27,000 from Fulton’s Nissan North dealership. Now, she’s been arrested and charged with stealing $4,300 from another business.
The Oswego County Sheriff’s Department accused Goppert, 37, of 103 Senior Ave., Fulton, with grand larceny and forgery. She was arrested Wednesday night and sent to jail on $1,500 cash bail or $2,500 bond.
Goppert’s accused of writing checks out of the bank account of Fox Hollow Movers in the town of Oswego and depositing the money in her personal business’s bank account. Undersheriff Robert Lighthall says the investigation shows Goppert wrote two checks, one for $2303.75 and another for $2000.
Lighthall gives this version of events:
An official of Fox Hollow Movers asked Goppert on Tuesday to print out a statement of checks written. The statement revealed the check for $2303.75. The company called police. With a Sheriff’s Deputy as a witness, Goppert immediately paid back the $2303.75 in cash from her bank account. The company immediately fired Goppert and said there would be no criminal charges if no other checks written to Goppert were found. One more check was found. The company pressed charges and Goppert was arrested at 5:37 p.m. Wednesday night.
Lighthall read from Goppert’s statement to police, filed with the court as a public document, during our interview over the phone. He said Goppert told deputies that writing the first check to herself was a “mistake” because she didn’t ask the company for permission first.
“She never gave a reason why she took the money,” Lighthall said.
Goppert was arrested in early May on the Nissan North allegations. She was placed in the county’s pre-trial probation program. She was due back in court eariler this month, but her case was adjourned at that time to August 20.
At the time, she first claimed most of the money had been stolen from her truck. Later, she admitted taking the money because she was in financial trouble and said she intended to pay it back. She had only worked for the company for less than two months.
Prior coverage:
missing or outdated ad config