Police: Bookkeeper stole $200K, spent cash at casino

Fort Lauderdale – A bookkeeper stole $217,376 from an attorney over 2 1⁄2 years and spent some of it at a Seminole casino, on Uber rides, dining out and even on utility bills, Fort Lauderdale police say.

Andree Theresa Greene, 52, remains in a Broward County jail on a $100,000 bond after her arrest Monday. She has pleaded not guilty to accusations of grand theft and using the identification and credit cards of her former boss.

Greene earned about $52,000 per year for her job with Fort Lauderdale attorney Lloyd Falk, where she also was office manager. Falk owns and manages real estate, he said Thursday.

Greene was responsible for property maintenance, collecting rents and paying bills.

From Jan. 1, 2016, through June 1, 2018, Greene used several methods to steal from her boss, according to an arrest report.

She would make un

authorized payroll payments by writing herself an extra check for a period already paid; issue a check to a private company she set up; or issue a check to a subordinate and ask that person to cash it for her, police said. That activity totaled $164,443, according to the arrest report.

Greene also was accused of having a tenant make payments to her personal company rather than to Falk’s firm, representing a $6,270 loss, police said.

Investigators also say Greene had an unauthorized credit card issued in her name and, without permission, used one of Falk’s cards.

She charged Uber rides, meals at restaurants, travel expenses and bills from Florida Power & Light.

She spent $12,616 at a Seminole casino in ways the report didn’t describe, part of $46,663 in total credit card theft, police say.

Greene was working as a property manager at the time of her arrest. Her lawyer, Michael Weinstein, called the charges against Greene “inflated.”

“She comes from a very good family,” Weinstein said. “From my knowledge, she has no prior criminal history.”

At a recent court hearing, Assistant State Attorney Eric Linder said, “It would appear that $160,000 was in cash that does not appear to have been recovered.”

Falk said he fired Greene in April 2018 after he said he noticed irregularities in an account that was rarely used.

“I have to commend the detective for the job he did,” Falk said. “He was very thorough.”

Of his former employee, Falk said: “I trusted her. I was wondering why I was so broke.”

Greene