A former manager at Tremont on Main stands accused of embezzling several thousand dollars from the company over the course of 15 months.
Capt. Chris Jones, of the Marshalltown Police Department, said Anjelia Pefferman, 35, of Marshalltown, stole $4,460 dollars between December 2010 and March 2012.
"One of the more specific things she was doing was rerouting the tip money from the business to herself," Jones said.
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Pefferman
Police arrested Pefferman Tuesday morning subsequent to questioning her at the police department.
Jones said Pefferman also used a company credit card to purchase personal items. Owners J.P. and Jennifer Howard tipped off police when they noticed the suspicious activity arising from the fraudulent credit-card use and missing money, which they noticed over Valentine's Day.
"One thing led to the next I guess," Jennifer Howard said. "We want to believe everybody is trustworthy, but obviously, it makes you stop and think. We are just hoping this is an isolated case."
The Howards said they helped police in the investigation and had no initial suspicion that Pefferman was the culprit. After all, she had worked at Tremont, where she started as a server, for five years, they said.
"We had absolute trust in her," J.P. Howard said. "She was actively helping herself [to our money]."
J.P. said police told him Pefferman squandered at least some of the stolen money at a casino.
Pefferman worked at the restaurant until April when, as Jennifer puts it, she moved on to other things.
"It's a shock, an overall shock," she said. "Everybody liked her. Our customers liked her."
Pefferman faces charges of money laundering, a Class C felony, ongoing criminal conduct, a Class B felony, and second-degree theft, a Class D felony.
A Class B felony is punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Pefferman is being held on $25,000 bond.