Executive Assistant Admits To Stealing $134K From Boys And Girls Club

FULLERTON (CBS) — A former executive assistant for the La Habra Boys and Girls Club admitted Monday to embezzling more than $134,000 from the organization over two years and using some of the stolen money to pay for breast implants.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Roger Robbins offered to sentence Lynette Rojas to three years in prison in exchange for her guilty plea, Deputy District Attorney Marc Labreche said.

Rojas, who is scheduled to be sentenced April 18, will also be ordered to pay $165,000 in restitution and $270,000 in fines, Labreche said.

Labreche offered a plea agreement for five years in prison, which Rojas rejected. A message left with Rojas' attorney Daniel Moffatt after business hours was not returned.

It doesn't appear Rojas can pay any of the money back, Labreche said.

Boys and Girls Club officials plan to testify at sentencing how her theft impacted the organization, Labreche said.

"This had a tremendously negative impact on them," Labreche said.

"They're already serving an underserved community. While the amount of embezzlement is less than what I usually handle, the impact in this one was substantially greater."

The La Habra Boys and Girls Club had to cut programs and lay off staff to cover the costs, Labreche said.

"The insurance was only able to take care of a small portion" of the loss, Labreche said.

Rojas, 37, of La Habra, started working for the La Habra Boys and Girls Club in April 2008 as an executive assistant. She was responsible for the club's payroll and bank deposits, Labreche said.

Rojas issued two dozen unauthorized paychecks totaling nearly $25,000 to herself and stole more than $109,000 in cash from the club, Labreche said.

The total of the reported loss was $134,540, the prosecutor said.

A bookkeeper for the club noticed discrepancies such as payroll documents with pieces of paper pasted to them to cover up additional pay that Rojas issued to herself, Labreche said.

Rojas used some of the money to pay for breast augmentation, Labreche said.

Rojas pleaded guilty to one felony count of grand theft by embezzlement, and 24 felony counts of computer access and fraud while also admitting sentencing enhancement allegations of embezzling more than $100,000, aggravated white collar crime more than $100,000 and property damage more than $65,000.

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