An Oakland woman faces felony charges in Santa Clara County for allegedly embezzling over $200,000 from a pair of downtown Palo Alto restaurants.
Jennifer Colvin, 40, was arraigned in San Jose on Wednesday on two counts of felony theft by an employee. Colvin was in charge of payroll at Rangoon Ruby and Burma Ruby in Palo Alto, and prosecutors alleged she gave herself a pair of $15,000 bonuses and, at one point, purchased a $65,000 Porsche.
"This theft happened during the height of the (COVID-19) pandemic, when local restaurants were already struggling," Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a release. "Please develop robust checks and balances for your business. Trust but verify. Your livelihood depends on it."
A Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office spokesperson told KCBS Radio that a police investigation showed Colvin's alleged theft began on Feb. 28, 2019, and it was reported to the Palo Alto Police Department on Nov. 11, 2020.
The restaurants, which share administrative operations under the ownership of Max Lee, sued Colvin in Santa Clara County Superior Court last Oct. 20, according to court documents. Attorneys for the restaurants alleged in the complaint that Colvin embezzled nearly $300,000 from both establishments between March 2019 and last October. Colvin was fired on Oct. 20, according to the filings and the District Attorney's Office spokesperson.
The civil lawsuit alleged Colvin agreed to a $115,000 salary as the human resources director for both restaurants. In her role, Colvin allegedly switched the restaurants' payroll processor to one over which she had sole control. Colvin paid herself over $214,000 from Rangoon Ruby's accounts and almost $72,000 from Burma Ruby's, according to the complaint.
Colvin countersued in January, alleging she was "mistreated by" her employers "based on her gender and was excluded from meetings involving corporate human resources."
Her lawyers claimed the restaurants fired her on Oct. 12, eight days before she was sued, in retaliation for opposing workplace harassment and discrimination. Colvin also allegedly witnessed and reported "numerous actions" she believed violated state or federal law, such as listing and playing workers who weren’t employed by the restaurant and failing to report COVID-19 exposures to local health officials and restaurant employees.
The restaurants denied all charges in a February filing, and attorneys for both sides were scheduled for a case management conference on Oct. 26 at 10 a.m. after their last hearing in July.
A District Attorney's Office spokesperson referred questions about the civil case to an attorney representing Rangoon Ruby and Burma Ruby in the lawsuit. In an email to KCBS Radio, the attorney declined to comment on the status of that case following Wednesday's arraignment.
The lawyer representing Colvin in the civil case also didn't respond to a request for comment.
The Santa Clara District Attorney's Office said in a release that Colvin could be incarcerated and required to pay restitution to Rangoon Ruby and Burma Ruby if she's convicted.
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