Covington

—The defendant, Cheryl Covington, appeals from an order denying her petition to expunge a grand theft conviction following termination of her probation. (Pen. Code, § 1203.4.) She contends she was entitled to expungement as a matter of right because she complied with all the conditions of her probation, and in particular the requirement she pay restitution commensurate with her ability to pay. We disagree and will affirm the order.

Background

Covington worked as a bookkeeper for Kern River Distributors. In 1989, she began diverting company funds to her personal use and continued to do so over the next three years until she was finally discovered and arrested in November of 1992. She subsequently was charged with four counts of grand theft (former § 487, subd. (1), now § 487, subd. (a))—one count for each year from 1989 to 1992—and one count of forgery (§ 470). Pursuant to a plea agreement, Covington pleaded guilty to one of the theft counts subject to a Harvey waiver (People v. Harvey (1979) 25 Cal.3d 754 [ 159 Cal.Rptr. 696 , 602 P.2d 396 ]). The other charges were dismissed.

On March 10, 1993, the court suspended imposition of sentence and placed Covington on five…