by Cris Italia
Keri Brunner, 27, of Delaware Avenue in Long Beach was arrested and charged with first degree falsifying business records, second-degree grand larceny, and second-degree possession of a forged instrument.
Brunner allegedly filed a fraudulent business certificate with the Nassau County clerk's office, which she then used to open a commercial account at the HSBC bank in Oceanside. Brunner worked as a secretary for All Hours Energy in Island Park. She was arrested two weeks after company owner, Arnold Seltzer discovered the thefts.
"I made the initial discovery and pressed the first charge," Seltzer said. "At first I didn't know how much she took or how she did it. Everything is just starting to come in now and I'm looking into everything.
Brunner stole $161,858.46 from August of 2001 to September 2002. She worked for Arnold for about two years and never caused any problems at the company. "I feel violated. . . You just hire people and hope everyone that works for you is honest and true to you," Seltzer said in a statement.
Police reported, after obtaining the business certificate and opening the bank account, she then stole check payments from customers for oil, service and installations, then she deposited the money into the illegal account, which was under her name.
The incident was reported on Sept. 13, and police made the arrest on Sept. 27. Brunner could not be reached for comment.
"We feel she should be held to the utmost extent of the law," Seltzer said. "My business is being hurt by this person."
