Susan M. Staples, 55, of Bristol Township, was sentenced to 4 to 23 months in prison for embezzling more than $197,000 from a plumbing business in Lower Moreland Township, Mainline Media News reported.

Staples worked as a bookkeeper while the owner was out sick from September 2023 to August 2024, during which she used her access to the company’s accounts to receive funds and property to which she was not entitled, Mainline Media said.

She pleaded guilty to charges of access device fraud and receiving stolen property and was ordered to pay $197,395 in restitution to the plumbing business.

An investigation began in August 2024 when the company’s owner reported the unauthorized use of business checks and gas cards by an employee of the business. Investigators found that Staples had used a gas card to fuel her personal vehicle without authorization, totaling roughly $169,281 in unauthorized transactions. She also used a business account to make $20,809 in unauthorized purchases of multiple cellphones and iPads, some of which she then sold for cash or digital payments, Mainline Media said.

Staples also reportedly “paid herself unauthorized time off, used company funds to pay her share of her health insurance plan and made unauthorized personal purchases on a company credit card”, Mainline Media said.

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