Idaho office manager embezzled $170k from her employer – and spent most of it on food delivery

Charlene Smith abused her position at Northwest Industrial Machine by writing checks to herself and depositing company funds directly into her personal Cash App account

The former bookkeeper spent the money on ordering takeaways, according to the Idaho State Tax Commission (Getty)

An Idaho office manager has admitted to stealing $170,000 from her former employer and blowing most of the money on food delivery apps, according to the Idaho State Tax Commission.

Charlene Smith worked as a bookkeeper for Northwest Industrial Machine, a now-defunct retailer of new and used tractor parts and farming equipment based in Nampa.

Between 2021 and 2022, Smith abused her position at the firm by writing checks to herself and depositing company funds directly into her personal Cash App account, the commission said in a statement.

Smith, from Idaho City, then used the embezzled money to order takeaways through apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash and Facebook Pay.

She was caught when she failed to report the money as part of her 2021 state income tax return.

After pleading guilty to state income tax evasion and forgery charges, Smith was sentenced by Judge Randall Grove at Canyon County District Court in Caldwell last week to 19 years of supervised probation.

She was also ordered to repay the entirety of the money stolen to her former employer.

She could ultimately face prison time if she fails to meet the terms of her probation.

“Deliberately providing false information on a tax return is fraud,” said Jeff McCray, the commission’s chairman.

“Taxpayers must accurately report income from all sources on their tax returns.”

Based in Boise, the commission works to uncover tax crimes by analyzing returns and carrying out audits, also acting on tips from police, other state agencies and members of the public.