01-07-2025
Former Westmoreland County IHOP general manager charged with taking $12K in fake paychecks
The former general manager of an IHOP in Westmoreland County is accused of falsifying payroll records and pocketing more than $12,000.
Pennsylvania State Police said the investigation into 45-year-old Aldo Maya Garcia, who was the general manager of the IHOP on Route 30 in Hempfield Township, began in August of last year.
Police said financial records turned over to troopers showed that there were more than 20 checks that were suspected of being falsified.
Investigators said employees clock in and out through a point-of-sale system in the restaurant, but the fake time entries were created from a remote device using a code. The company told investigators that, as the general manager, Maya Garcia would have access.
Troopers said Maya Garcia faked an identity to create an employee who didn't exist. She entered 18 shifts into payroll for that imaginary employee and endorsed them for mobile deposit, police said. She also allegedly entered in several shifts for a worker no longer employed there.
During the investigation, troopers said they learned that Maya Garcia was charged in 2023 with similar thefts when she was the general manager of an IHOP in Montgomery County, Ohio.
A search warrant executed on financial records showed that the fake checks were deposited into two separate accounts belonging to Maya Garcia, police said.
Maya Garcia is charged with theft, identity theft and tampering of records. A warrant is out for her arrest, and police are looking for her. Anyone with information is asked to call state police's Greensburg barracks at 724-832-3288.
