Laid-Off Worker Faces Burglary Charge

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. - A laid-off Mississippi bookkeeper is facing burglary charges after allegedly sneaking into her former place of employment, and used those checks to pay her bills.

The girl was laid off almost a year ago but her employer says she still had a key to the business. Police believe she was going into the business before and after business hours to pay her personal bills on the company's dime.

She was laid off as a victim of the struggling housing market, now 33-year old Whitney George is charged with victimizing her former place of business.

Lanier Hurdle with Wheeler Construction says, "I think surprise is an understatement. The girl was not only a former employee, she's a friend."

George, was a bookkeeper for Wheeler Construction in Southaven for 5 years. She was laid off about a year ago, when the housing market took a nose dive. But police say she continued to visit the business, only so she could pay her bills, using their checks.

Mark Little, a Lieutenant with the Southaven Police Department says, "I believe she had a key and also still had access to the computer system."

Police believe the alleged theft took place during an 8 to 10 month period. Hurdle, says it was hard to catch because the checks were written to the same places they wrote checks to on a regular basis, like AT&T, Entergy and Capital One. Only the money was allegedly going towards George's personal bills.

Hurdle says, "We probably never would have caught her but she did it more and more, in excess."

Police arrested George, sneaking out of the construction company's business office after allegedly writing another check, 6:30 Monday morning. So far, hurdle has identified $39,000 in missing money. But, the company is still backtracking.

Hurdle says, "Obviously this raises questions into what went on when this girl worked for years."

George is now charged with burglary of a business, but police say more charges are pending.

Hurdle says, "We're struggling like all people in the building business…is certainly not something we need at this time. This seems almost like stealing from a starving man, it's tough to deal with on many levels."

George is out of jail on a $25,000 bond. Police say George could face forgery and embezzlement charges, after the case goes to a grand jury.