A woman accused of stealing as much as $20,000 from her employer over the past two years now faces charges both in Minnesota and in North Dakota.
Miranda Gustafson, 33, worked for Todd's Electric in Kennedy, Minn., a company owned by town mayor Todd Truedson, when she allegedly committed the thefts.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Grand Forks County, Gustafson used a business credit card from Todd's Electric to buy items for herself and her family at several Grand Forks stores, including Target, Wal-Mart, and Home of Economy between July 2009 and July 2011.
She was arrested on the warrant out of Grand Forks County on Friday in Kittson County, Minn. Here she faces a felony theft charge.
Her first appearance in Grand Forks County District Court was not yet scheduled as of Monday afternoon, though she had been transported to the Grand Forks County jail.
ADVERTISEMENT
In Kittson County, Minn., last month, Gustafson was charged with two felony counts of theft and two felony counts of credit card fraud.
Gustafson told law enforcement she used Truedson's personal credit card to pay power and insurance bills, charged her gas bill to his account at a local serve station each week and took about $5,000 in cash from his home, $200 at a time, according to Deputy Jim Hewitt's statement of probable cause filed with the criminal complaint in Kittson County.
Combined with the amount spent at the Grand Forks businesses, Gustafson could have stolen or made fraudulent charges totaling $20,000 or more, the statement of probable cause said.
Gustafson has not yet entered a plea in the case in Kittson County. She is next scheduled to appear in court there on Aug. 16.
Gustafson, of Kennedy, does not appear to have a listed phone number.