Geneva woman gets 5 years for stealing more than $600K from employer

A west suburban woman was sentenced to five years in prison for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from her employer over several years.

Martha P. Strauss, 53, of Geneva, agreed to spend half a decade in prison in exchange for a guilty plea to a felony charge of theft, according to the Kane County state’s attorney’s office.

Between January 2008 and August 2015, Strauss stole cash and wrote checks to herself, totaling $618,380.69 in stolen money from the St. Charles business where she worked, the state’s attorney’s office said.

In addition to her prison sentence, Strauss must also pay back the stolen money, authorities said. She received credit for one day served in the Kane County Jail.

She was next scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 11, when a judge is set to rule on her payment method to her old employer.