A Jim Thorpe woman admitted in Carbon County court on Tuesday to stealing more than $100,000 from her employer.

Jane Leslie, 58, of Leisure Lane, appeared before Judge Joseph J. Matika to enter a plea to one count of forgery, as a felony 2. Other felony 2 counts - theft and receiving stolen property - were dropped in a plea deal with the district attorney’s office

She was charged by state police at Lehighton with stealing $127.271.61 from Dr. Edward D. Manzella, where she worked at his bookkeeper. Troopers were notified by Manzella that Leslie had been embezzling funds from his family health care practice in Penn Forest Township.

Dr. Manzella told troopers that on June 19 the office manager discovered fraudulently documented checks in the ledger of the practices’ QuickBooks system. She observed a check was documented in QuickBooks as going to a medical supplier, but upon further inspection, it was discovered that the check was written out to Leslie.

Dr. Manzella then contacted his accountant who conducted an audit of the QuickBooks system. He discovered dozens of fraudulent transactions from 2016 to July 2021. The accountant provided state police with a copy of all the fraudulent transactions which totaled $127,271.61.

Dr. Manzella and Dr. Victor P. Manzella, both said they never gave Leslie authorization to issue checks to herself.

She told investigators she had been employed at the medical facility since 2015 as a bookkeeper. She related she was having financial difficulties in her own personal life. She related she was “over her head” in credit card debt due to an addiction of purchasing items.

She further told the troopers she would document in the QuickBooks ledger that the checks were going to legitimate companies that Manzella Family Healthcare would do business with, but the checks would really be addressed to herself. She said she would routinely forge Dr. Victor P. Manzella’s signature on the checks and then deposit the checks into her personal bank accounts in person or by mobile deposit.

She declined to further go over all the fraudulent transactions stating there were too many to review. She admitted that she personally committed all the forgeries and unlawful transactions. Troopers noted during the interview Leslie repeatedly expressed remorse for what she did.

When asked by Judge Joseph J. Matika why she stole the money, she repeated what she told investigators, that she was “over her head” in debt with credit cards.

As part of a plea deal approved by the victim, Leslie had a cashiers check for $60,000 as payment towards the total taken. Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Ann Dydra Hatton said part of the plea deal is that Leslie must pay another $72,310.57 over the period of the probation term to satisfy the debt.

Dr. Manzella was present in the courtroom and acknowledged he agreed to the plea deal which included a probation sentence be impose.

Defense attorney Matthew J. Rapa said his client would make regular monthly payments for about a year and then be able to tap into her retirement account to pay off the total.

Matika placed her on probation for two years and ordered she must pay a minimum of $750 a month on the restitution and must pay it in full by the end of the probation period. She was also ordered to render 100 hours of community service, supply a DNA sample, pay court costs of over $1,000 and pay a $50 per month supervision fee while on probation.

Matika told her if she failed to pay off the debt by the end of the probation period that would be considered a violation of the probation and she could face further charges or possible jail time.