Jeremy’s on the 500 block of Main Street in Chehalis is under new ownership now.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A restaurant manager accused of pocketing hundreds of dollars per shift from her Chehalis workplace has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of theft.
Mindy D. Nogues, 32, worked at Jeremy’s Farm to Table on Main Street from May into October of last year.
Owner Jeremy Wildhaber said he now he knows why he was experiencing such a cash crunch, for months.
“She was stealing $300 to $500 a day in September and October,” Wildhaber said on a recent day. “In October, she got us for $4,000.”
Altogether, he, his bookkeeper and police attribute more than $8,000 in losses to the now-former employee.
Nogues was arrested Jan. 19 in connection with a warrant issued on Dec. 31 and the following day allowed release on a $10,000 unsecured bond.
Lewis County prosecutors charged her with three counts of second-degree theft and 10 counts of identity theft.
Last week, she and her lawyer went before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court, where a request to postpone her trial was granted.
Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Melissa Bohm said the trial was set for next month, but rescheduled to the week of May 16 because the defense is requesting more documents from Jeremy’s restaurant.
In hindsight, Wildhaber says, he thinks Nogues was testing various methods from the very beginning. He said that during her first two weeks of employment, he caught her failing to turn in the mandatory 5 percent of her tips for kitchen workers.
They talked about it, and he didn’t fire her, he said.
“I was really was desperate for help, and customers really liked her,” he said.
In fact, he said, she wasn’t the sort of person anyone would ever suspect of being dishonest that way. Everybody liked her and customers loved her, he said.
Charging documents summarizing the Chehalis Police Department investigation indicate Wildhaber and his bookkeeper concluded that Nogues had been using another manager’s code to approve various transactions.
The issue was brought to his attention by his bookkeeper, he said. The bookkeeper discovered that far more gift certificates were being spent at the business than had ever been issued.
Wildhaber told police one has to have a manager’s code to put a gift certificate into the system. He said it would be easy to take cash from a customer, but show they paid with a gift certificate.
The bookkeeper made a sheet illustrating the estimated losses from Nogue, according to court documents.
In their affidavit of probable cause, prosecutors wrote that in in May, Nogues took in only one gift certificate, yet for the month of October, she had 38 transactions involving gift certificates. The other seven employees that month combined took in only 39, according to charging documents.
Jeremy’s also found that while employees were supposed to staple the gift certificate to the particular receipt, Nogues had only done that three times leaving 35 unaccounted for. The system also showed she submitted gift certificates for odd amounts, amounts larger than their ledger showed they had sold.
A printout from the restaurant’s transactions showed Nogues in June took in $2,272.74 in cash sales and $271.66 in gift certificates.
In October, it was just the opposite ratio.
Nogues in October logged just $209.79 in cash sales while recording she took in $2,448.95 worth of gift certificates, according to the documents.
Wildhaber told police it would be impossible to work an entire month and take in that little cash.
She allegedly used other manager’s codes in attempts to cover up cash thefts in other ways as well, according to the documents.
For example, printouts for July through September showed Nogues had $1,753 in voided transactions while the next highest amount among other employees was $577.11.
Some voids supposedly done for her by another manager occurred when the other manager wasn’t working, according to the allegations.
Wildhaber said he confronted Nogues and reported the theft to police on Oct. 30.
Today, Wildhaber no longer owns the business. He said he wasn’t able to pay rent, and his landlord took it over. He’s cooking there and still doing a lot of work connected with the criminal case.
“It’s a big mess,” he said.
The thefts aren’t the only reason he couldn’t continue, but played a role, he said.
“It put me in a downward spiral, really fast,” he said.
Last Thursday, after the hearing in Lewis County Superior Court, Nogues and her lawyer, Jakob McGhie, said they had no comment on the allegations.
•••
Full disclosure: Jeremy’s restaurant had an advertising relationship in the past with Lewis County Sirens.com
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
I really wonder, of those who have made negative (and personal) comments about a bad, sad situation, knew Jeremy personally? Who knew, first hand, what actually happened? My fellow human beings totally baffle me with their comments so freely spewed when their face is hidden. Easy to type BS and I wonder if the same words typed would come out of a mouth if actual verbal communication were required. I am truly amazed at the amount of people who feel they have to spread negativism….no matter what. This is a sad situation for everyone, period.
Part of me wants to stand up for him. Karma got the upper hand here. I seen it coming from a mile away. Too many bad business decisions… I believed in his vision and mission… Farm to Table concept. Business needs structure. People need to feel valued, respected and recognized for thier efforts. To many hands in the pot. Treat your employee of a value.. High turn over, Un paid over time, BOH tip money pocketed etc etc.. Its bound to catch up…. Do good business and its returned. To bad business and well you know:(
“Today, Wildhaber no longer owns the business. He said he wasn’t able to pay rent, and his landlord took it over.”
Doesn’t Jeremy’s mom own the building?
Poor Jeremy is now cooking for new owners in the restaurant with his name on it. Now the whole truth (or rumor) emerges. That’s what happens when you let the little man do the thinking against all good counsel.
Oh well, America is the land of the second chance, the land of the come back. Look at John Travolta an Robert Downey Jr.
I think that Pizza place in a small town with a tourist trade is a good idea.
Sorry, but Jeremy was warned about the thief as soon as he brought her on and decided to have a personal relationship with her. The employee who warned him was FIRED! Jeremy was adamant that she wad legit. I guess his underling was right after all. When you ruin an employees life and enjoy it, sometimes your get it back.
Karma
The bottom line is if someone wants to steal from you they will find a way to do it no matter how good of a business person you are and how tight of a ship you run. I have seen it many times. Good luck to Jeremy! Hope all works out for him being a business man or employee.
With all due respect, if your company deals with cash, your employees will find a way to steal it. Sounds like the bookkeeper tried to keep on top of it, but you need to balance your tickets every day. Cash+checks+credit cards should balance to total sales, if you’re off it’s coming out of your paycheck.
Lyle Parks, you are so wrong Jeremy works very hard. I am honored to call him a friend. He is truly a good person. He has a heart of gold and loves helping people and improving the community. Jeremy Wildhaber is a great person made of very good moral fiber
• Mindy Dawn Nogues, 29, Chehalis, first-degree theft, sentenced to 30 day in jail, fined $100, $1,400 in fees. 2013
http: //www.chronlne. com/records/lewis-county-superior-court-june–july/article_2b4ee4f8-eb6a-11e2-bacf-0019bb2963f4. html
Jeremy started out small as a fruit and vegiestand then opened up his Restruant. Jeremy is to trusting for his own good. I have met Jeremy several times when I still lived in WA. Not to mention had his book keeper not been so honest this gal would not have been caught before. She has had these charges before and am sure she will do jail time again.She has a history of theft.
My Bad. It seems that I didn’t read to the bottom here or I would have seen that poor old Jeremy is broke and now cooking for the new owners of his restaurant. So I guess he is not worried about his former manager suing him.
Well not everyone is cut out to be a businessman. I know I’m not, I tried it twice and was not very successful either time. I have been quite successful as an employee receiving a paycheck with the taxes already taken out however.
Jeremy, I think that you should try again and open a pizza place. I’m quite serious. Not Chehalis though. I’m thinking small town with a tourist trade.
Fortunately Jeremy’s bookkeeper was on the ball here as he seems to be a much more trusting person than I would be.
Problem here is that, unless they have solid proof that she embezzled, Jeremy could end up in a lawsuit and his former manager could end up with another cash settlement from him.
As ludicrous as that sounds, the very same thing happened to a friend of mine who owns a very successful restaurant in Tacoma. She ended up settling for, I think, $20,000 on top of the all that was stolen from her by her once trusted manager.
Jeremy might have to get a little more hands on in the financial side of his business if he doesn’t want to get ripped off again. Sound like he has got an honest bookkeeper, but you need to have checks and balances on everyone, even your bookkeepers. Trust but verify.
how do youu lose a million dollar business over a 10,000 loss maybe he should have started out not so elaborate and grew into a bigger business as profits grew also you have more control over what is going on
Google her name. She’s done this before, 4 years ago.
Shit wages, illegal workers stealing jobs, under paid the temptation is there. My neighbors a cop and is underwater with his mortage. Im wondering how many cops are doing this. Those cops in Lakewood were gunned down, then one of the cops buddies started a donation program then got caught robbing from the fund. Youtube is just full of cops getting caught on hidden camera stealing from people. Photography is not a crime .com has daily news on these types of crimes that are not being reported. The moral of the story is when you run a business you and only you must handle the money. The moral of the story is you cant trust no one not even a cop. Money is evil and given the chance even a cop will steal
Thief stink! It’s sad that a hard worker lost his business partly due to a thief.
Wow! All you business owners better be nice to Lyle if he comes to your place or Karma will get you.
I agree with Lyle Park.
This saddens me to the core. I was so excited to see Jeremy prosper. He’s got a heart of gold, he spent many of sleepless nights designing the restaurant before it opened. This is horrible. The community stands behind you Jeremy! I’m SO sorry!!!
The crime is bad and glad they caught her.
I don’t really care for Jeremy. He seems spoiled and shuns people he don’t care for. I just think it is Karma
In fact, he said, she wasn’t the sort of person anyone would ever suspect of being dishonest that way. Everybody liked her and customers loved her, he said.
This statement is one that reflects our so called officials in Law Enforcement Also. When someone has power they abuse their position, nevrr forget this comment it reflects that power corrupts.
Wow, this really ticks me off. Jeremy is a really good person. He helped me out more than I could ever say. It’s really upsets me someone would steal from a man with such a generous, caring, giving heart. Sorry Jeremy, you have worked hard to keep that place and it is your dream. I hope that you are able to recover. Prayers to you!!
How horrible Jeremy is a great guy I hope he can recover from this years ago I made candles and he sold them in his store for me. He does alot for the conmunity we should do a go fund me account for him