Woman faces 3rd arrest after embezzling, stealing more than $30K since 2016

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KFOX) — A New Mexico woman with a history of embezzling money, forgery and fraud dating back to 2016 was arrested again Friday on two more charges of larceny and fraud totaling $2,946.61.

Michelle Casas, 42, was arrested Friday by Las Cruces Police Department officers at a probation and parole office, according to court documents, and is facing charges of larceny and fraud dating back to 2021, when she worked as a secretary with Las Cruces-based C.D. General Contractors Inc.

Court documents state that Casas was hired as a secretary at the business around May 6, 2021, but that she quit less than a month later "with no notice and no explanation."

Casas reportedly had no direct involvement with the company's finances, however, she did have access to sensitive banking information including account and routing numbers.

Some three months after Casas abruptly quit, some of the contractors' staff "began noticing unauthorized charges" on its accounts. When they reviewed their bank statements more closely, the contractor reportedly noticed 18 transactions totaling $2,946.41 that could be linked back to Casas, including payments to AT&T, Capitol One, Discover, Venmo, Amazon and more.

According to C.D. General Contractors' owner and its payroll specialist, Casas "did not have permission to use the business' account to pay these personal accounts." And, as of 2024, Casas had not repaid any of the money, according to court documents.

While Casas' time and alleged crimes with C.D. General Contractors started and ended in May 2021, that would not be her only brush with white-collar crime.

In 2016, Casas was accused of embezzling more than $29,000 from a realty company.

That same year, she was served with a warrant after she allegedly used money from another construction company and former employer, MANS Construction, to pay her cable TV bill.

Then, in 2021 she was hired as manager of Las Cruces' Dove Canyon Mobile Home Park, where she similarly embezzled cash rent payments. Official documents state the owners of the mobile home park received an anonymous tip from a tenant in April 2021, which would suggest that Casas was working at -- and allegedly stealing from -- Dove Canyon and C.D. General Contractors at the same time.

Court documents from that arrest stated that Dove Canyon's owner was aware Casas had been previously convicted of embezzlement, but that Casas claimed she took the fall for someone else.

ncG1vNJzZmivmpawtcKNnKamZ56axLR7zZqroqeeYsSwvsudZrCnnZa7brLAnJysZWOnsW6t0aucrKxdlrO1sdFmnKaala%2FHrbXNoGSsrJWWuaq6xmakqKqVYsGprc1mammjXai2r6%2FEZmlpaWZixKm1055knKecoa6zecKroKadXaGus6%2FEp7BmnqKWwqV5wZqlpGWRmLCwwc2tZKunpam2r7OMramapqOWsLW1zqeqZpufo8C1vtScq6KnnmKwsLrTq5icrJ%2Bneq67waKjnmWYpLqmecCnpqexnaTCtHnToqdmpJGseqa6xaipnJ2dmru1