Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man was sentenced today for stealing thousands of dollars from his employer.

44-year-old Blake Allyn Schaefer earlier entered guilty pleas to two felony theft charges in Olmsted County Court. He was accused of embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from an Oronoco area business while he was employed as the company's Chief Financial Officer.

READ MORE:  Rochester Man Admits to Paycheck Padding Scheme

According to the criminal complaint, the owner of the business contacted the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office in November 2022 and complained that Schaefer had stolen the funds during the previous five years. The business owner claimed more than $150,000 had been stolen.

Olmsted County Sheriff squad car
photo by Andy Brownell
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The court document says Schaefer admitted to an investigator that he had padded his paycheck by submitting timesheets that included hours he did not work. The criminal complaint says he told the investigator that he would add about 40 hours extra each month and estimated the amount of money involved at around $60,000.

"Well, I kind of got money tight and I started to pad some hours, run some extra hours on my paycheck." "It was totally my mistake. I shouldn't have done it, and it caught up with me which it should have. It was just a dumb decision, a very dumb decision." "I guess it was probably a couple of years ago that I started it. Two years ago, maybe. I don't know what prompted me to think I would do it. I just got money tight on a situation."

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The charges in the case say the company's insurance firm commissioned a forensic audit for late August 2021 through late November 2022. The complaint indicates that the audit documented misappropriated company funds to the payment for extra wages totaling more than $99,000. It was also noted that total does not include any alleged activity that occurred prior to August 2021.

Schaefer was sentenced today to five years on probation. He was also ordered to pay more than $125,000 in restitution.

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