Star Tribune
Rikki Lee Kor of Marshall, Minn., accused of bilking money from KHC Construction via forged checks
MARSHALL, MINN. – The former accountant of a family construction company skimmed more than $95,000 from the business and spent it on gift cards, a Spotify subscription, and trips to casinos among other things, county prosecutors said.
Rikki Lee Kor, 49, of Marshall was charged with 24 felony counts of fraud in connection with the embezzling that spanned about a year until this summer.
Kor was charged Friday and is scheduled to make her first court appearance Oct. 1.
According to the criminal complaint:
Kor stole the money by issuing checks to herself and misusing business credit cards while working at KHC Construction, located in Marshall.
The company’s owner Kim Christensen, described in the complaint as “not great with technology,” told a detective he hired Kor through a staffing company known as PeopleReady. The plan was that the company would screen recruits and he would pay them to pay the new hire. He offered Kor a job in June of 2023.
Christensen said he hired an outside accounting firm to help his business as they were moving offices, which is when they began to find suspicious transactions.
Christensen said the company began to find checks that were signed by him, but didn’t match his signature. Investigators found 12 checks for KHC Construction issued through First Dakota National Bank between Nov. 16, 2023, and April 12, 2024, all cashed at Prairie’s Edge Casino in Granite Falls.
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