Paid seven times her salary by mistake, she kept quiet for a year... and now faces prison and a maximum 30-year sentence
The receptionist never reported the error and lived a life of luxury while it lasted.
A 29-year-old receptionist has been arrested in Florida after allegedly pocketing more than $400,000 that her employer mistakenly deposited into her account over the course of nearly a year. According to authorities, the woman — identified as Yessica Arrua — received seven times her normal monthly salary due to a payroll error that went unnoticed for months.
Arrua had worked for nine years at the Palm Beach Equine Clinic, a facility specializing in horse care. Beginning in February 2022, she started receiving inflated payments that were actually intended for another employee. Rather than notify the outsourced human resources department, she stayed silent and took full advantage of the unexpected windfall.
Police say the money was spent on luxury goods, furniture, restaurant dinners, and travel. One of the more unusual purchases was a food truck bought for a friend of her mother. Investigators also tracked money transfers to family members in Argentina, allegedly to help build a house.
From luxury to jail in under a year
The scheme remained hidden until January 2023, when the intended recipient of the payments began having her credit cards declined. After raising concerns, the clinic discovered the payroll discrepancy and contacted police. That set off the criminal investigation into Arrua, who had not been suspected up to that point.
She was arrested on June 27 and is currently being held at the Palm Beach County Detention Center. Arrua faces charges of grand theft and money laundering. If convicted, she could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison.
In addition to the criminal case, the Palm Beach Equine Clinic has announced plans to take legal action against the third-party payroll firm responsible for managing salary payments. The clinic says the oversight failures were serious — and allowed the fraud to continue unchecked for nearly a year.
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