Ex-bookkeeper accused of charging $150K in personal expenses to hearing center

A former Lexington Hearing & Speech Center bookkeeper amassed more than $150,000 in personal charges on the group’s credit cards for veterinary bills, electronics, limousine rentals, food and more, police said Wednesday.

Jan R. Mauldin, 58, has been charged with multiple counts of fraud. She worked for the center from October 2008 through December 2015, according to police.

Detectives determined she used hearing center credit cards for personal expenses, including clothing, phone payments, gym memberships, hotel accommodations, vacation rentals and more, police said in a news release.

She concealed the fraud by altering center records.

She’s charged with four counts of fraudulently using a credit card as well as theft by deception, receiving goods of fraud and unlawful access to a computer.

The center, in a statement released by police, said it discovered discrepancies a number of weeks ago through “internal audit processes” and initiated an internal investigation. The agency has since cooperated with police in its probe.

“Despite the losses associated with this activity, the operations of the center are not, and have not been threatened in any way,” the center said in the statement. “In addition, there is no indication that the data of any of the participants or any of the employees of the center has been compromised. The center will continue to cooperate with law enforcement and the prosecuting authorities.

“The center assures the families who look to it for invaluable services that there will be no interruption or impact on their experiences. The center’s commitment to its critical mission of creating sound beginnings, is unaffected by these sad events.”

This story was originally published May 4, 2016 at 3:00 PM with the headline "Ex-bookkeeper accused of charging $150K in personal expenses to hearing center."