A former employee faces felony charges in connection with an alleged years-long embezzlement scheme that cost the owners of Toscano RV Center in Los Banos, Calif., nearly half a million, according to Merced County Superior Court records.
This story by Vikaas Shanker originally appeared in the Merced Sun-Star.
The ex-employee, James Joshua Medina, 37, of Newman, has pleaded not guilty.
Medina worked as a manager for the parts department the family-owned Toscano RV for 10 years and had access to business accounts that allowed him to place orders, according to Merced County Sheriff’s Office investigation reports. The business sells RV parts throughout the country.
“We almost lost our business because of this,” said LeAne Santos-Sousa, a bookkeeper for Toscano RV.
According to reports from investigators, Medina was believed to have sold generators online at about half price between 2010 and 2015. He would tell the buyer to transfer the funds to his personal PayPal account instead of the business account, the reports state.
Medina would then order the generators using discount prices and ship them from a Georgia-based distributor, Stag-Parkway, directly to the buyer. But Toscano RV would be left with the full bill from the distributor, according to the reports.
The alleged scheme is believed to have cost the company $458,871.94, Santos-Sousa’s husband and Toscano RV Business Manager Jeff Sousa told investigators. Medina was estimated to have pocked about half that amount, authorities said.
Medina’s next court hearing is scheduled for Sept. 12.
