Justene Gugumuck, 41, of Chester, Va.
A former longtime payroll employee for Swat Total Pest Control in Chalfont Borough has been arrested after she allegedly stole more than $132,000 via false overtime claims and bank transfers into her personal account.
Justene Gugumuck, 41, of Chester, Va., has been charged with felony counts of theft, receiving stolen property, identity theft, computer trespass, access device fraud, and criminal use of a communication facility, in connection with the investigation. She is currently free on $100,000 unsecured bail.
Investigators said Gugumuck was hired to work part-time for the company in 2012 and became the sole employee to handle payroll when she was hired full-time as the office manager in 2018. Between her full time hire and December 2022, Gugumuck stole $119,886.28 via unauthorized overtime, as well as transferring another $12,890.63 from company accounts into her personal accounts, police said.
The owner told police he became aware of the alleged thefts after his insurance company advised there were discrepancies with his unemployment claims forms. The owner then contacted his accountant, who discovered Gugumuck was falsifying overtime forms and was paying herself large amounts of overtime and regular hours, according to police.
Gugumuck was served with termination paperwork on Dec. 8, 2022, and though the criminal complaint does not explicitly state she was terminated due to the alleged theft, it notes that four days later, she signed a judgement note agreeing to repay $80,000 to the company via an $8,000 one-time payment followed by $600 monthly payments for 120 months.
The owner contacted police on March 8 to report the theft — approximately three months after Gugumuck was terminated, according to the complaint.
Police said over the course of her employment, Gugumuck also worked under the names Justene Cieslak and Justene Tscheschlog. She moved to Virginia after being fired, according to police.
Gugumuck was arraigned on Sept. 5 by Magisterial District Judge Regina Armitage. Her next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on Oct. 10 at 1:30 p.m. in front of Judge Armitage.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using police reports, court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
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