People v. Silva CA1/1

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL

BACKGROUND

Around 2008, Silva was hired as an office administrator at a small Pittsburg limited liability company that provided construction-related cleaning services. The company had three partners, and the managing partner worked in the office with Silva. In 2011, Silva was promoted to office manager and became a salaried employee, ultimately making $40,000 a year plus benefits. As office manager, Silva routinely used QuickBooks, the company’s accounting software system. She was responsible for accounts payable and receivable and for keeping the checkbook balanced, and she used the program to print checks for a partner’s signature. She was not authorized to sign checks on behalf of the company or its partners. One day in January 2017, the managing partner told Silva he was going to the bank. He intended to draw from the company’s line of credit to pay taxes, but at the bank he “learned that the line of credit was exhausted and was no longer available.” When he returned to the office, Silva was gone and her office key had been left behind. She never returned to work, and the partner’s attempts to contact her were unsuccessful. An audit of the…