The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has arrested Kristina Nicole Parrish, 40, a former assistant at Laishley USA, on charges of embezzling over $200,000. The arrest followed a report filed by Bruce Laishley, the owner of the company, after he and his current assistant, Brandilyn Laishley, uncovered fraudulent activity while reviewing tax records.
Parrish had been employed by the Punta Gorda businessman for about two years before she was terminated due to excessive absences. After her dismissal, unauthorized transactions made by Parrish amounting to $200,434.19 were discovered. The investigation also revealed additional unauthorized charges on Laishley’s personal American Express account.
Laishley informed deputies that during Parrish’s employment, she had access to the company’s Bank of the Ozarks account and his personal American Express card. However, her authorization was strictly limited to writing checks and making payments on behalf of Laishley USA only, and she was not authorized to handle finances for his other businesses.
Laishley noted that Parrish managed the company’s finances independently, preventing others from reviewing the transaction history. When Laishley noticed that some of Parrish’s work was incomplete, he offered to hire additional help, but Parrish declined, insisting that no extra assistance was needed.
Following her termination, Laishley and his daughter discovered the financial discrepancies, all of which pointed back to Parrish. A detailed transaction review conducted during the investigation revealed that she had allegedly used company funds for personal expenses.
After a year-long investigation, deputies gathered sufficient evidence and requested Parrish to come to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office headquarters. Upon being confronted with the evidence, Parrish surrendered and was subsequently arrested. She has been charged with first-degree grand theft of $100,000 or more and is currently being held at the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office Jail.
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