Hotel Manager Accused of Siphoning $900K Into Her Own Bank Account

A former hotel manager in Michigan was indicted Nov. 21 for 15 counts of wire fraud and a count of money laundering, after she allegedly directed $900,000 of company refunds to her personal credit and debit cards, MLive.com reports.

Renata Nicole Annese started as the general manager of Sleep Inn in Allendale, Mich., in 2004 and reportedly started redirecting funds two years later. Between October 2006 and April 2013, it is estimated Annese took $872,929.23 from the hotel by disguising her actions as legitimate customer refunds.

The hotel’s payment system allows the business to hold guests’ credit or debit card information as a reservation and does not process the transaction until the conclusion of visitors’ stays. That way, if someone cancels or requires a refund, the transaction can be edited.

Annese apparently took advantage of this editing capability by entering her personal credit and debit card information under legitimate customers’ names, then sending the refunds for final processing. She alone was responsible for reviewing credit and debit card transactions, MLive.com reports. It’s unclear if she stole refunds rightfully owed to customers or if she used the system to create refund situations that didn’t exist.

Though the method of theft suggests Annese had access to customers’ payment information, it seems she didn’t steal any, as far as the reports indicate. In general, it’s a good idea to check your credit card statements after a hotel stay, to make sure you’re properly billed. Regularly checking your account activity will also help you spot fraud — like if a rogue employee steals your credit card information. It’s not unheard of.

Other than the obvious annoyance of having someone steal your card information and spending your money (or racking up a large credit card bill), fraud has the potential to hurt your credit score. High credit card balances are considered signs of risk to lenders, meaning you may lose score points if someone drives up your card balances without your knowledge. Make a habit of checking your credit score — you can get two for free on Credit.com, with updates every 30 days — so you can easily spot signs of fraud, like an unexpected change in score.