A 28-year-old man pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of stealing nearly $180,000 while working for a construction company in Brea.
Luis Edwin Perez allegedly used duplicate fake invoices since February 2019 “with a loss totaling $179,280.83” to Peterson Brothers Construction Inc., according to Brea Police Department Detective Alfred Rodriguez.
The alleged embezzlement was discovered in January when an accountant noticed a payment made to Ticketmaster and alerted the company’s controller, Rodriguez said.
Perez allegedly used the money for personal purchases from Ticketmaster, Apple, Seatgeek and Stubhub, Rodriguez said.
When confronted with the “unusual transactions,” Perez abruptly resigned “and left the building and has not returned,” Rodriguez said.
“Perez has sent an email to the company’s CEO apologizing and explaining how he did this and also admitted his actions to the original Brea (police) investigator,” Rodriguez said.
Perez began working for the company in 2015 as an accounts payable administrator, Rodriguez said.
Perez was charged with a dozen felony counts of grand theft by embezzlement with sentencing enhancement allegations of aggravated white collar crime between $100,000 and $500,000.
Perez, who entered a plea in the jail courtroom in Santa Ana, was ordered to return to court Dec. 28 in the North Justice Center in Fullerton.
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