Police in Lancaster, Pennsylvania are searching for a former Wendy’s manager who created a fake employee and stole $20,000 in unauthorized wages.
Linda Nicole Johnson, 35, is accused of creating a fake Wendy’s employee named William Bright. She then clocked him in and out for 128 shifts between April 2021 and May 2022.
The fake employee earned $19,898.15 over 22 pay periods. Johnson allegedly deposited Bright’s paychecks into her own CashApp account.
The ruse was discovered when Wendy’s investigators conducted a forensic audit of the restaurant’s payroll and discovered 22 paychecks made out to an employee named William Bright.
They interviewed the other employees who all said they didn’t recall working with anyone named William Bright.
After Johnson was confronted with the evidence, she admitted creating shifts for Bright and clocking him in and out.
In April, the police spoke with Johnson who said she used the money to help care for her children.
An arrest warrant was obtained for theft by deception, but Johnson had already skipped town by then.
The insurance company paid Wendy’s nearly $16,000 for the lost wages.
The Manheim Township Police Department is asking anyone with information on Johnson’s whereabouts to call 717-569-6401.
