Hales Corners man stole from Kenosha employer, $150K+ charged: complaint
Nicholas Franzen
KENOSHA, Wis. - A Hales Corners man faces multiple charges, accused of stealing more than $150,000 from his former employer, Catalyst Exhibits, in Kenosha.
Police responded to the business on March 17 and learned that Nicholas Franzen, who worked in the IT department, had been informed that his job would be eliminated and the company would be outsourcing its IT.
A criminal complaint says Franzen was supposed to remain on the payroll for a week to assist the new company, but he only stayed for one day. An employee at the new IT company reported Franzen seemed distracted and nervous during their time together. On the second day, Franzen failed to show up for work and claimed to have turned in his company laptop, but an investigation revealed the laptop he mentioned was not the one assigned to him.
Suspicious of Franzen's behavior, an investigation began into his purchases while he was employed at the company.
Prosecutors say Franzen was the sole IT employee during the past year and had been provided with a company credit card for purchasing computer equipment and other company-related items.
The complaint says Franzen erased all his receipts on his last day of employment.
Further examination revealed that Franzen allegedly made multiple purchases through his personal PayPal account, which was linked to the company credit card. The nature of these purchases remained unclear as they were listed under Franzen's PayPal account on banking statements.
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When police took over the investigation, they compared statements for the Catalyst Exhibits credit card with Franzen's PayPal transactions and bank statements and uncovered a scheme. It appeared that Franzen created fake purchases from another company, CDW, and used the company credit card via PayPal to pay for these non-existent purchases. Instead of the payments going to CDW, Franzen diverted them to a second PayPal account and then to his personal checking account.
The complaint lists unauthorized transactions totaling $153,213.44.
Prosecutors say Franzen's wife said Franzen had control over their joint bank account and frequently withdrew large sums of money, often citing cryptocurrency investments and online gambling. She expressed concerns about his financial behavior and his issues with drinking.
Franzen was arrested at his Hales Corners home. The complaint says he denied embezzling money from Catalyst Exhibits.
Franzen made his initial appearance in court Tuesday, June 13. Cash bond was set at $20,000. He faces one count of money laundering and 10 counts of identity theft, all felonies.