Dunedin Office Manager Accused Of Stealing $50,000 From Company

DUNEDIN, FL — A Dunedin woman is facing a felony count of scheming to defraud after being accused of stealing money from her employee.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office arrested Jayme Collman, 40, Wednesday following an investigation at the request of her employer, Avid Insurance Co., 1480 Beltrees St., Dunedin.

According to detectives, Collman was hired by the company in March 2018 as an office manager assigned to handle the employee payroll.

Due to financial hardships during the coronavirus pandemic, the company applied for a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan. When company officials gathered documents to complete the loan paperwork, they noticed discrepancies in the payroll numbers. Suspecting a theft, they contacted the sheriff's office, which began investigating in January.

Detectives said they discovered that $59,568.12 had been stolen by Collman who issued herself and her husband about 40 payroll and reimbursement deposits between Jan. 8, 2019, and June 30, 2020.

Collman was interviewed Wednesday and admitted to the theft.

She was arrested and charged with one count of scheming to defraud, a first-degree felony. She was taken to the Pinellas County Jail where bail was set at $50,000.