Woman Accused of Stealing $4K From New Berlin Business

A 37-year-old Waukesha woman is facing charges after she allegedly bilked a New Berlin landscaping company out of $4,000.

Robbin R. Hoeppner was charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court Tuesday with one count of theft of more than $2,500 from a business and 15 counts of identity theft for financial gain. If convicted, she faces up to 93 ½ years in prison and $160,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

Hoeppner was hired in 2009 as a secretary at AAA Landscaping, 18901 W. Lincoln Ave., but less than a year into her employment, she began to get lazy on the job. She then asked the owner if she could take checks to the bank and bills to the post office, which she then began to do.

After several months, the owner noticed some bills were not getting mailed, which Hoeppner said she must have forgotten to mail them. The owner soon discovered she was cashing checks meant for bills for herself.

Because her work ethic was so bad, the owner decided to hire another woman in 2010 to help take care of some of the work, which caused Hoeppner to start cashing more checks from the business for more money. The man told police Hoeppner knew the new employee would find the missing money soon, so she must have been trying to make the most of her situation while she could.

Hoeppner had cashed 15 checks for herself, with a total loss to the business at $3,967.

While reporting the incident in July 2010, Hoeppner called the victim’s cell phone and he put it on speaker so investigators could listen in. She said she would pay the victim back, but was only able to get $210 from Check and Go at that time.

She told the victim she lives “a lot of trouble,” and had no excuse for the theft, but she said it wasn’t drug related. Hoeppner told the victim she took the money because she was behind on car payments and a man she knew from seven years prior recently held a gun to her head.

She then began to cry and told the victim a doctor had recently discovered a brain tumor and she was waiting to find out if it was cancerous, but she would find a way to repay the missing money.

In November 2010, officers called Hoeppner, who said she was living near West Virginia and left Wisconsin after having a falling out with her mother. She said she would be coming home for Thanksgiving, but eluded to the fact she may never come back depending on the case.

When confronted about the embezzlement, she said there had been a mix-up with a check while working at AAA and the other suspicious checks were reimbursements she got from the company.

Officers then confronted Hoeppner’s mother who said he daughter had just stayed at her house the night before. She offered to pay restitution so her daughter wouldn’t be charged.

Hoeppner is out of custody and a warrant has been issued for her arrest.