An Armstrong County woman is accused of stealing nearly $300,000 from her employer.
On Thursday, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office announced that Ashley Apperson, 34, of Leechburg, had been charged with theft by unlawful taking, access device fraud, misapplication of entrusted funds, receiving stolen property, and unlawful computer usage.
According to a criminal complaint filed against her, Apperson worked for Ventec Refrigeration in Penn Hills and was recruited in June 2022. She was in charge of accounting responsibilities such as processing payroll, managing payable invoices, printing checks, reconciling credit card accounts, and managing the company’s direct deposit.
Ventec Refrigeration records its financial operations using a system known as QuickBooks. Apperson was also in charge of keeping the records up to date.
Police said Apperson was fired on May 11 for performance concerns unrelated to theft or suspicion of theft.
An employee who took over the job of logging checks into QuickBooks made a typo and entered the wrong check number. Police claim that number did result in a check, however. This particular check was made out to Apperson, but it was never included on her payroll. On May 27, police were contacted to conduct an investigation following this discovery.
According to investigators, Apperson received 88 checks between January 13, 2025 and May 6, 2026, none of which were authorized by the corporation. Police stated the majority of the checks were altered and placed into a PNC Bank account.
Police secured a search warrant, which they say they used to discover that the account belonged to Apperson and her husband.
According to court records, Apperson also used a company-issued credit card to make expenditures that never benefited the business.
Apperson is suspected of using the money for:
- Online gambling
- Dave and Buster’s purchases
- Vacation expenses
- Purchases at restaurants
- Car payments
- Utility bills
- Purchases made on Amazon
- Purchases made over PayPal
- Everyday living expenses
Officers said Apperson admitted to issuing checks to herself and changing the recipient’s name to hide her tracks.
According to police, Apperson stole approximately $285,000 in the check scheme and used the corporate credit card for personal purchases totaling more than $14,000.
She is expected to appear in court on July 6.
Leave a Comment