By Vicky Wedig
SLN staff
An initial appearance is scheduled for Jan. 11 for a Williams Bay man charged with embezzling money from the Waterfront Restaurant in the Town of Delavan while working as the restaurant’s general manager.
Rick A. Johnson, 42, was charged Dec. 7 in Walworth County Circuit Court with theft in a business setting of more than $10,000.
According to the criminal complaint, Waterfront owner Tim Torkelson discovered the business was several thousand dollars in the red after Johnson resigned as general manager at the end of 2016. An accounting firm reviewed the company’s books and determined multiple irregularities with the way Johnson had kept the financial records, according to the complaint.
Torkelson determined Johnson had embezzled more than $60,000 from the business between August 2014 and December 2016 via various methods, according to the complaint.
On three occasions, Johnson failed to turn cash profits from the bar in to the bank. Those amounts totaled $5,291 on three dates in the summer of 2016, according to the complaint.
Also in 2016, Torkelson discovered $3,632 was missing from proceeds from the bar’s pool tables and video and gambling games, according to the complaint.
Torkelson also discovered $1,098 work of patio furniture that had not been used at the bar was purchased with the Waterfront’s Lowe’s card, according to the complaint.
Torkelson also discovered Johnson was completing electronic fund transfers and then entering them into the business’ bookkeeping soft-ware to appear that were going to the business’ Capital One credit card, according to the complaint. Torkelson said the business no longer had a Capital One credit card and the payments were being made to a Capitol One Mobil card that belonged to John-son, according to the complaint. Those payments to-taled $60,101 between Au-gust 2014 and December 2016, the complaint states.
