Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office investigators apprehended a woman accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the Metairie construction company where she worked as a bookkeeper.
Michelle Miller, 52, of Mandeville, was arrested on March 20 on charges of theft in excess of $25,000, bank fraud, and 110 counts of forgery, according to Sgt. Brandon Veal, a department spokesperson.
She is accused of stealing over $44,000, according to police.
The sheriff’s office began their inquiry in January. According to officials, the owner of the construction company informed detectives that his bank had contacted him about a woman attempting to cash a $5,265 check from the company.
According to investigators, the owner requested that the bank not process the check after discovering that it was issued by Miller and payable to cash.
Suspicious, the owner began scrutinizing previous checks handled by Miller and discovered 18 bogus checks made out to cash between July 2025 and January 2026, investigators claimed.
The checks’ amounts ranged from $525 to $5,200, totaling $44,552, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
According to police, the company’s owner informed investigators that Miller was the only person who had access to the company’s physical checks and the software used to issue them. He further stated that the signatures on the fake checks were not his.
Miller denied any involvement when the owner contacted her about the checks, investigators said.
There was no immediate word on whether investigators discovered further bogus checks following the initial report to the sheriff’s Office in January.
Miller was jailed on Monday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna. The bail was set at $320,000.
