Hastings woman charged with theft

A 34-year-old St Johns County woman, who had been a trusted bookkeeper and office manager for Jackson Veterinary Hospital since 1999, was arrested Thursday afternoon and charged with committing an organized scheme to defraud her former employer.

Carey Lynne Platt, who resides at 4605 Olga Street in Hastings, is charged with removing over $200,000 from her employer over a period of more than four years. She was released from jail after posting $5,000 bond.

The investigation began in late June when the veterinarians say they discovered Platt had been paying off three of her personal credit cards from the businesses’ bank account since April 2009. As detectives collected and reviewed evidence of the crime over the past several months, they discovered that Platt had also been manipulating the office records to hide the ongoing theft.

Platt was fired when the thefts were discovered. Financial Crimes Detective Henry Miller is continuing the investigation.