On Friday, two former employees of the Mandeville, La., area Franco’s Athletic Club were arrested on charges of racketeering, theft, identity theft and money laundering.
Emily Davis, former financial director at Franco’s, and Jennifer Thompson, former human resources director, are accused of stealing upwards of $1.7 million from the company between the years of 2008 and 2016, the North Shore district attorney told NOLA.com.
According to prosecutors, Davis and Thompson are supposed to have taken more than $1.4 million in cash for personal use, redirected more than $165,000 in credit charges by means of fake accounts, and deleted more than $19,000 in personal loans from Franco’s’ 401K.
It is also alleged that Davis on two occasions used a club owners name to obtain large sums of money without authorization. Both women were fired from the club in 2016 and have been under investigation by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s office and the assistant district attorney.
Friday afternoon, club owners Ron and Sandy Franco released a press statement confirming that they will cooperate as needed with the police investigation.
"It is most unfortunate that we have experienced a breach of trust from individuals who were a part of Franco's for many years," the statement reads.
"In spite of the shock and disappointment that this experience has caused, we believe strongly that this was an isolated incident and will not allow it to deter our faith in humanity. Franco's has never been more committed to our employees, our members, and our community."
