Desk clerk admits to $7K theft

Hatfield resident’s penalty includes prison, restitution payments

NORRISTOWN >> A Hatfield man who worked as a front desk clerk at an Upper Merion hotel has admitted to using a fraud scheme to steal more than $7,000 from his employer.

Michael F. Traupman, 39, who listed addresses in the 1200 block of Bethlehem Pike and in the first block of Cowpath Road, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to time served to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of theft by deception in connection with incidents that occurred between August and October 2015 while he worked at the Comfort Inn in Upper Merion.

Under a plea agreement,

Judge Gary S. Silow gave Traupman credit for the 16 months he’s been in jail since his arrest in October 2015. The judge further ordered that Traupman complete four years of probation and pay a total of $7,384 in restitution in connection with the crime.

“He used his position at the Comfort Inn. They trusted him and he abused that trust,” said Assistant District Attorney Meghan Carney, explaining

Traupman broke the trust of his employer by stealing from the hotel.

Defense lawyer Frank Flick said Traupman is “very remorseful” for his conduct.

“He had self-esteem issues and he developed a gambling habit. The funds that he was taking from his employer were used to fund that habit,” Flick explained. “If he could do it all over again he wouldn’t have done it. He’s paid the price and now he’s ready to get on with his life.”

An investigation of Traupman began in October 2015 when managers

of the hotel, located along West DeKalb Pike in the King of Prussia section of Upper Merion, reported to police that an internal audit of their credit and debit card processing software uncovered about 76 suspicious credit transactions occurring between August and October.

“Management reported that the vast majority of these crediting transactions were perpetrated on dates and during hours in which night clerk Michael Traupman manned the front desk alone,” Upper Merion Detective Andrew Rathfon wrote in the arrest affidavit.

The transactions, detectives alleged, were manually entered into the debit and credit processing software used by the hotel, to which Traupman had access.

“These transactions did not correlate to any transactions or guests in the hotel booking software system,” Rathfon alleged.

Essentially, the transactions credited varying sums of money to seven debit credit card accounts that authorities eventually determined were held by Traupman, according to the criminal complaint.

Traupman was taken into custody when he reported for work at the hotel on Oct. 20, 2015, according to court papers. At that time, Traupman was found to be in possession of all seven debit cards, each of which was embossed with his name, detectives alleged.

“He had self-esteem issues, and he developed a gambling habit. The funds that he was taking from his employer were used to fund that habit.” — defense lawyer Frank Flick “They trusted him, and he abused that trust.” — Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Meghan Carney