Photo: Mary Urias
April 6, 2020 – Ventura County – According to its website, for more than 30 years Oxnard’s 5-Star Theatricals “has been enriching the cultural life of Ventura and Los Angeles Counties…by providing extraordinary performing arts experience” with its presentation of live musical theater.
While that may indeed be the case, unbeknownst to its management, the company was also enriching the life of 56-year-old Oxnard resident Mary Urias.
Urias was employed by 5-Star Theatricals as its office manager beginning in May of 2016. Apparently it didn’t take her long to get creative with the company books. Responsible for paying the company bills and depositing receipts into the company bank account, Urias is suspected of writing checks and depositing them into her personal bank account as early as June of 2016.
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Detective Jennifer Bowle, in Frebruary 2020 another employee “reported they suspected Urias” of transferring funds from the company’s accounts into her own.
At that point an investigation commenced which soon “determined Urias used her position” to “write checks from the company account and use a company credit card to cover her personal expenses.” During her tenure with the company, Urias is suspected of embezzling more than $130,000.
Pursuant to their investigation, detectives of the VCSD East County Investigations Bureau Forgery Fraud Unit arrived at Urias’ residence early on the morning of April 2nd with a search warrant in hand.
The product of that search supported their suspicions, and detectives took Urias into custody. She was transported to Ventura County Jail, where she was booked on multiple counts of Grand Theft, Identity Theft, Preparing False Documentary Evidence, and Forgery. She remains in custody with her bail set at $110,000.
Photo: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking
