Kenosha Expanded Technologies embezzlement, $340K stolen

KENOSHA, Wis. - A former employee of Kenosha's Expanded Technologies is accused of stealing $340,000 from the company, transferring it to her own bank account. Prosecutors say she confessed to another employee, and after that, the CEO initially kept her on because she was the only one who knew the company's banking/account passwords.

Diane Sigler is accused of stealing from the company over several years, from October 2020 through March 2023. Prosecutors say there were at least 130 transactions.

The complaint says the CEO suspected funds were missing for about a year before an audit revealed fraudulent accounts associated with the company.

During this audit, the complaint says Sigler admitted to the CEO that she took the money and acted alone, manipulating the check register to deceive another employee responsible for reconciling the accounts. Prosecutors say she had also confessed to another employee, saying she had spent the stolen funds.

Diane Sigler 

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This other employee told investigators he investigated the accounting software and saw that Sigler had created fake vendor accounts with names similar to legitimate vendor names, generating invoices and vouchers for them, issuing checks to them and voiding the checks after transferring the money to her own account, the complaint says. Prosecutors say documentation from Sigler's bank showed transfers from the company's accounts matched the deposits into Sigler's account.

Sigler was arrested on May 12. Prosecutors say she told investigators she and the CEO were working on a payment plan.

The complaint says the embezzlement scheme left the business on the brink of bankruptcy.  

Sigler is charged with theft and identity theft. She made her initial appearance in court on May 15. Cash bond was set at $40,000.