A San Francisco office manager fraudulently wrote himself checks totaling $1.1 million from the law firm he worked for, federal prosecutors said.
Jairo Santos, 42, of San Mateo, is charged with three counts of bank fraud and is alleged to have written approximately 806 checks to himself from his employer between March 2016 and March 2023, the indictment states.
Santos was employed by the firm in 2000 and was an employee until June 2022 but "continued to have access to the firm’s offices" until 2023, court records show.
He allegedly had access to the firm's checks and forged a senior executive's signature on the checks he paid to himself, the indictment stated.
Federal prosecutors say deposits and accounts controlled by Santos totaled $1,191,683. The approximate amount per fraudulent check allegedly written equates to around $1,478 per check.
Santos also allegedly covered up his payments to himself by deleting entries in the firm's ledger, the indictment added.
He was initially expected to appear in San Francisco Federal Court on Monday, but the hearing has been rescheduled for Aug. 22.
Santos was released on $50,000 bail, according to federal court records.
If convicted, Santos faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000, plus restitution for each count, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of California.