Bookkeeper embezzled $5 million from Arroyo Grande agricultural businesses, DA says
A bookkeeper for two Arroyo Grande agricultural businesses has been charged with embezzlement for allegedly stealing approximately $5 million from the companies over 11 years.
Ginger Lee Mankins, 55, of Pismo Beach was charged Feb. 5 with 15 felony counts of grand theft by embezzlement, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release Monday.
On Monday, Mankins was in San Luis Obispo Superior Court, where she pleaded not guilty to the charges.
A Superior Court judge at the arraignment set Mankins’ bail at $330,000. Mankins was listed in custody as of Monday afternoon.
The District Attorney’s Office said that Mankins was arrested Feb. 6 following a nine-month investigation into alleged thefts at Rick Machado Livestock and B&D Farms, both of Arroyo Grande.
The complaint alleges that Mankins stole from Rick Machado Livestock between the dates of May 2007 and February 2018, and that the thefts were not discovered by the company until March 2018.
The District Attorney’s Office also alleges that Mankins stole from B&D Farms between the dates of August 2012 and December 2019.
As to both companies, the complaints allege that Mankins “exploited her position as a trusted bookkeeper to gain access to the money and to conceal her theft,” according to the news release.
Mankins is due back in court Friday.
Two days after the District Attorney’s Office filed charges against Mankins, Machado filed a civil lawsuit against Mankins over the alleged crimes, according to court records.
A case management conference in that case has been set for June.
