PENN HILLS, Pa. — An Armstrong County woman is accused of stealing nearly $300,000 from her employer.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office shared information on Thursday, saying Ashley Apperson, 34, of Leechburg, had been charged with theft by unlawful taking, access device fraud, misapplication of entrusted funds, receiving stolen property and unlawful use of a computer.
According to a criminal complaint filed against her, Apperson worked for Ventec Refrigeration in Penn Hills and was hired in June, 2022. She was in charge of accounting tasks, including: processing payroll, managing payable invoices, printing checks, reconciling credit card accounts and managing the company’s direct deposit.
Ventec Refrigeration uses a system called QuickBooks to record its financial activity. Apperson was also in charge of keeping those records up to date.
Police said Apperson was fired on May 11 because of performance issues, which had nothing to do with theft or suspicion of it.
An employee who took over the job of logging checks into QuickBooks made a typo and entered an incorrect check number. Police say that number did bring up a check, though. This particular check was made out to Apperson, but was never a part of her payroll. Police were contacted on May 27 to investigate after this discovery was made.
Investigators report 88 checks, none of which were authorized by the company, were issued to Apperson between Jan 13, 2025, and May 6, 2026. Police said a majority of the checks were altered and deposited into a PNC Bank account.
Police obtained a search warrant and say they used it to learn that the account belonged to Apperson and her husband.
Court documents said Apperson also used a company-issued credit card on purchases that never benefited the business.
Apperson is accused of spending the money on:
- Online gambling
- Dave and Buster’s purchases
- Vacation expenses
- Purchases at restaurants
- Car payments
- Utility bills
- Purchases made on Amazon
- Purchases made over PayPal
- Everyday living expenses
Officers said Apperson admitted to issuing checks to herself and changing the name of the recipient to cover her tracks.
Police say Apperson stole over $285,000 in the check scheme and spent over $14,000 on personal expenses with the company credit card.
She is scheduled to appear in court on July 6.
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