Ex-Roller Weight Loss Employee Arrested, Faces Two Felony Counts
by October 16, 2015 3:10 pm 2,897 views
An investigation that began earlier this year took another step forward this week when police arrested a woman accused of stealing more than $105,000 from a Fayetteville medical clinic.
Elizabeth Millard, 40, of Bentonville, was arrested Oct. 14 in Bentonville and charged with one felony count of theft of property and one felony count of fraudulent use of a credit card.
She was booked into the Bentonville Police Department and bonded out on a $10,000 bond.
Millard was sued Aug. 10 by her former boss, Fayetteville physician Josh Roller, owner of Roller Weight Loss and Advanced Surgery at 1280 E. Stearns St.
According to the lawsuit, she was hired in 2008 and was responsible for handling cash paid by patients, and was solely responsible for making sure payments were deposited into the company’s bank accounts.
Roller claimed Millard stole money over an 18-month period leading up to her abrupt resignation in July. He became aware when outside accounting support hired earlier this year by the company uncovered irregularities with Millard’s money and documentation management.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Roller first suspected irregular activity in May when he received a company credit card statement for $3,900. He went over the purchases and later discovered that Millard used the card to buy a laptop computer for her own personal use.
When Roller confronted Millard about the computer, she gave it to him. Roller then began investigating the cash flow into the office and discovered Millard was pocketing customers’ payments for nutritional supplements.
An employee in the billing department began keeping copies of the records in February 2014, and from those documents Roller cross-referenced total sales of the nutritional supplements against the cash amounts actually deposited. The discrepancy, according to the affidavit, was $105,264.
In his lawsuit, Roller also claims Millard is in violation of a non-compete agreement because she now works for Mercy Clinic in Rogers.
The case is being investigated by the Fayetteville Police Department and prosecuted by the Washington County Prosecutor’s Office.
Roller’s civil complaint, filed in Benton County Circuit Court by Rogers attorney Marshall Ney of Friday, Eldredge & Clark, asks that Millard repay the stolen money ($105,263.68). Punitive damages totaling $500,000 are also sought.
Millard has retained Bentonville attorney Randy Wakefield of the Wilkinson Law Firm.