OCALA, Fla. – The business manager of an education nonprofit in Marion County turned herself in Tuesday amid an investigation into a years-long fraud scheme, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies said that on April 24, detectives contacted the executive director of Silver River Mentoring & Instruction — a nonprofit group that provides mentoring and education services to at-risk youth in Marion and Citrus counties.
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In a release, deputies explained that detectives reached out to the director to discuss a potential organized fraud case involving 41-year-old Danielle Liles, who had worked as a business manager for the nonprofit since 2002.
The director told detectives that Liles had been stealing money from the nonprofit since 2016 and that Liles had admitted to the fraud because of an upcoming financial audit, the release shows.
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Liles had arrived at the nonprofit’s Citrus County location on April 21 to begin the audit, and during the meeting, she admitted to giving herself extra paychecks since 2016 while providing records as proof, deputies said.
According to the sheriff’s office, Liles had stated that she stole the money from the company because “she became addicted to it.”
An investigation found that Liles had made 137 fraudulent checks to herself since 2016 — totaling more than $766,000, detectives said.
The checks included either overpayments for her actual wages or entirely separate checks outside of her normal pay, according to the release.
On Tuesday, Lile turned herself into the Marion County Jail, deputies announced.
Liles faces a charge of organized fraud in excess of $50,000. She is held on bond of $25,000.
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