Aug. 25, 2023 11:10a
(WGTD)---An employee of a school that serves students with autism at sites in Mt. Pleasant, Racine and Pleasant Prairie has been accused of embezzling over $100,000.
Bond for 42-year-old Heather Wenthold of Cedarburg was set in Racine Court Thursday at $50,000.
Wenthold worked at Sonnenberg Consultants.
According to the criminal complaint, one of the first red flags occurred when the owner of the business found herself locked out of the company’s business software.
Shortly after being told that she was being fired, Wenthold allegedly frantically began deleting hundreds of computer files in order to cover her tracks.
It was later learned that Wenthold, while employed full-time by Sonnenberg and purportedly working from home, also held full-time employment with the Cedarburg Art Museum.
At the end of April, an employee of the Racine location. made the owner aware that Wenthold, identified as principal of the school, was physically present only a handful of times during the school year. "The employee indicated she did not come forward to report the absences of Wenthold because she was scared of her," the complaint reads.
Messages left for the Cedarburg museum were not immediately returned.
Wenthold, according to the criminal complaint, purportedly used the money she stole to give herself bonuses and raises that were never approved, and to have work done on her home, along with treating herself to vacations.
Sonnenberg Schools are listed as a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation and are accredited by the Wisconsin Religious and Independent Schools Association. It doesn't appear that Sonnenberg is a voucher school.
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