ST. LOUIS — Two former workers of a restaurant in St. Louis County are accused of stealing $1.4 million by using company credit cards to buy things for themselves, like a trip to Disney World.
The Eastern District of Missouri U.S. Attorney’s Office says that Matthew Braasch and Mark Erney, whose ages were not given, both pleaded guilty to two counts of wire theft in February.
The charges said that both men worked as top managers at a restaurant in Grantwood Village and told bosses that they would only use company credit cards for business costs.
It was said that Braasch bought the following things with company credit:
$81,965 at Target
$31,000 at Vinyard Vines clothing store
$39,634 on Amazon
$10,000 on local hotel stays for an acquaintance
$1,600 on golfing
$2,460 on RV storage
$5,425 on St. Louis Cardinals tickets
$2,681 for a vacation at Disney World
Erney allegedly spent company funds on the following:
$155,696 on Amazon
$37,000 at local bars and restaurants
$5,600 for two couches
$4,943 on men’s health products
Due to the theft, the charge says, the restaurant didn’t have enough money to buy food or pay state taxes, including liquor taxes. To cover the costs, Braasch and Erney took out loans.
According to the accusations, Braasch lied about being a restaurant manager to hide the truth from real managers when state agents tried to get back taxes.
They were charged with two counts of wire theft on February 20. Last Friday, Erny turned himself in and said he wasn’t guilty. On February 25, Braasch did the same thing.
