Bookkeeper accused of staging fire to conceal embezzlement
Janice Carlstrom allegedly injured and bound herself to purport an intruder assault at her investment firm, according to investigators
SARATOGA >> A bookkeeper for a Saratoga investment firm has been arrested after reportedly admitting she staged a fire last year at her workplace, and an assault on herself, to cover up her embezzlement of over half a million dollars from the company, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.
Janice Carlstrom, 74, of San Jose, was arrested Nov. 12 on suspicion of arson, embezzlement and forgery stemming from the 2019 fire that burned the office of Pollack Investments on Big Basin Way in downtown Saratoga.
Carlstrom volunteered to meet with sheriff’s detectives for an interview Nov. 12 in which they presented their evidence against her, Deputy Russell Davis said. The sheriff’s office states that she admitted to the deception, and she was booked at the county jail before being released on $40,000 bail.
A man who answered a listed telephone number for Carlstrom acknowledged the arrest and said they would not be commenting on the case. The firm also declined to comment on Carlstrom’s arrest.
On the morning Nov. 4, 2019, county firefighters and sheriff’s deputies responded to a fire at the investment firm’s office and found Carlstrom inside, appearing to have been bound and gagged, according to a news release from the day. She reportedly told investigators that she was ambushed from behind by someone who duct-taped her eyes and mouth closed and then woke up to the sounds of fire sprinklers and the rescuing firefighters.
Carlstrom was later treated for a cut to the back of her head and a broken nose, authorities said. The sheriff’s office at the time immediately classified the case as a suspicious circumstance rather than an assault or kidnapping, and quickly ruled out any public threat.
Over the course of the past year, the sheriff’s office says it collected evidence indicating that Carlstrom was embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from her employer, with the last estimate being more than $580,000.
Davis said the investigation showed that she was withdrawing company funds and depositing them into personal accounts and paying off personal debts. He added that Carlstrom’s thumb print on a piece of unspecified arson evidence, and the presence of some kind of accelerant at the fire scene, bolstered their suspicions.
As for Carlstrom’s assault and injuries, Davis said they appear to have been self inflicted, as detectives have found no evidence suggesting she was working with an accomplice.
The broad conclusion by detectives was that Carlstrom was torching incriminating materials from her alleged financial crimes, Davis said.
“She voluntarily provided a statement, was brought in for an interview, and she admitted to fabricating the story,” he said.
Davis added that the impact of the fire was significant for Saratoga, with a stretch of downtown closed off for most of the day for the fire response and subsequent investigation, and the detective resources devoted to getting the bottom of what they contend was a staged crime.