News

Restaurant manager accused of $200,000 ATM theft

September 10, 2003

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - Matthew James Olivero, a 29 year-old assistant manager at a McDonald's restaurant, has been charged with helping himself to about $200,000 in cash that was to be loaded into an ATM in the restaurant.

A criminal complaint filed last week in Hennepin County District Court charges Olivero with four counts of theft by swindle of more than $35,000 and one count of theft by swindle of more than $25,000, according to a report in the Bloomington (Minn.) Sun Current.

Part of Olivero's duties included keeping the restaurant's ATM stocked with cash from its daily receipts, according to the criminal complaint. He was the only employee who had a key and combination needed to unlock the ATM during the period the cash turned up missing - from roughly January 2000 through June 2002.

"This isn't a case of simply miscounting or skimming a few dollars," said Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar. "For more than two years, this defendant systematically diverted more than $200,000 in cash from an ATM that he controlled. As with many white-collar crimes, this is another example of someone using technology and exploiting a position of authority to commit a serious financial crime."

The thefts were discovered when accountants for McDonald's found discrepancies between the amounts listed as put into the machine compared to money actually withdrawn by ATM users. McDonald's officials notified Bloomington police of the missing money.

Olivero allegedly used the money to buy jewelry, a motorcycle, season tickets to professional sports events and a timeshare in an Orlando, Fla., condominium, according to the Sun Current report.

The extravagant lifestyle came as Olivero faced serious financial problems, police reports and court documents indicate. Late in 1999, he had numerous checks returned for insufficient funds, and he failed to make rent payments on his family's home.

Each of the five counts against Olivero carries a possible 20-year prison term and a fine upon conviction. He will appear in court again on Sept. 24.