Former Bookkeeper Arrested For Stealing Funds

Former Toppan Printing Co. (Franklin, N.J.) employee, David L. Hathaway of Newton, N.J. was arrested and charged with Theft by Deception, Second Degree. Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest stated that an investigation conducted by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Unit revealed that on April 13, Toppan Printing Co.’s senior human resources manager responded to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office with allegations of theft, by defendant Hathaway, of more than $100,000 from the company.

Hathaway began his career at Toppan in January 2007 as a controller. On Dec. 1, 2007, he was promoted to the role of secretary and controller, leading the accounting division.

Forrest said the investigation revealed that Hathaway’s deceptive business practices surfaced on March 9, when Merrill Lynch, a customer of Toppan, noticed an accounting problem. Toppan checks were written to vendors utilizing an assigned number system, and it showed that a company by the name of A2Z Inc. was paid $10,913.03 for work done on behalf of Merrill Lynch. Merrill Lynch accountants discovered the error, and notified Toppan that they neither conduct business with A2Z, nor did they receive any services from that company.

The official investigation revealed that an internal investigation was conducted by a Toppan account supervisor, who noticed that the check was written by Hathaway and eventually deposited into Hathaway’s ANZ Services Inc./A2Z Services bank account.

The transaction records of A2Z/ANZ were compiled and the final tally showed that from Dec. 13, 2007 to Dec. 12, 2008, Hathaway wrote 10 Toppan checks payable to ANZ Services/A2Z Services for a total of $118,178.38. The account authorized signature was listed as Hathaway, treasurer, who was the sole proprietor and sole signatory.

Hathaway is currently logged at the Somerset County Jail, with bail set at $35,000, with a 10 percent option.

Note: The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office is required to include a statement explaining that the charges are merely an accusation, and that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.