AMERICAN FORK — Criminal charges have been filed against a Santaquin man accused of embezzling nearly half a million dollars from his company to pay for things such as trips to Disneyland.
Dustin Pace Harrow, 39, is charged with theft, a second-degree felony, and unlawful acts by a director, a third-degree felony. On Friday, his case was transferred to American Fork’s 4th District Court.
In 2017, Harrow and two other men “entered into an operating agreement under which each partner had a one-third ownership interest. However, defendant was to act as the day-to-day manager, was listed as an agent of the partnership, and receive a $110,000 annual salary,” according to charging documents, which do not name the company.
In January 2019, one of the partners noticed “suspicious charges” and an accounting firm was hired to conduct a full audit.
“The audit revealed that defendant had embezzled $452,703.29 above and beyond his authorized salary by withdrawing cash, writing cashier’s checks to himself from the company’s account, and using the company account to pay for things such as his personal car payments, hunting excursions, and trips to Disneyland,” according to charging documents.