Employee steals more than $400,000 from veterinary clinic

Jennifer Schneiders, former account administrator at AVets in Monroeville, Pa., pleaded guilty to three counts of theft after stealing more than $400,000 from the practice.

According to court documents, Schneiders worked at the veterinary hospital for 15 years before being fired in September 2011 when it was discovered that she was being compensated for time she hadn't worked.

After she was terminated, Hospital Director Sean Smarick, DVM, found questionable activity on the hospital's profit-and-loss statement. An investigation by an auditor subsequently showed that more than $398,000 in funds that were supposed to be deposited in the hospital's bank account were never deposited. It was also discovered that a check from the practice for more than $8,000 was deposited into Schneiders' bank account—a check Smarick says he had no knowledge of.

Mike Manko, a spokesperson for the Allegheny District Attorney's Office, says Schneiders was sentenced on Nov. 5 to 11 to 23 months in jail followed by 14 years probation and was ordered to pay back the money she stole.