Bond Set for Man Accused of Embezzling More Than $124,000 from Menomonee Falls Business

MENOMONEE FALLS -- Bond has been set for a Wauzeka man who has been charged after police say he embezzled more than $124,000 from a Menomonee Falls construction business.

James Denk, 38, has been charged with theft in a business setting and faces up to five years behind bars if he is convicted. He signed a $20,000 signature bond this week and is scheduled for his preliminary hearing on December 22.

According to Denk's criminal complaint, the owners of Neu's Building Center, N95 W16915 Falls Parkway in Menomonee Falls, reported to police that Denk was responsible for embezzling approximately $124,150 from the business between October 2014 and February 2016.

The criminal complaint stated that Denk, a financial controller/accountant for the company, started displaying unusual behavior resulting in a number of incidents, including:

• Attempting to pay a contractor approximately $1,400 in cash despite company policy to pay contractors via check.
• Attempting to approve $14,000 in additional year-end bonuses for himself.

According to his criminal complaint, company officials began to look into Denk's behavior and pulled till reports for cash deposits. When they did, they found a pattern of shorted deposits that were created by Denk, and then turned over to a secondary employee for a deposit at the bank.

Further investigation into Denk's dealings revealed that Denk manipulated the till reports on several occasions by adjusting the cash deposit amount on the till reports. According to the criminal complaint, online gambling activity was also noted on Denk's former computer.

When detectives approached Denk regarding 82 separate incidents in which they observed Denk manipulating till reports, Denk denied any wrong doing and responded by saying that the office assistant checked his till reports after they were completed and made many of the deposits themselves upon driving to the bank, his criminal complaint said.

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