Miami gym accountant accused of stealing $115,000 in payroll – NBC 6 South Florida

The accountant for a Miami fitness center was arrested after investigators say she stole more than $115,000 from the business through a payroll fraud scheme.

Maria Fernanda Moya, 45, was arrested Tuesday on charges including organized fraud scheme, first-degree theft and fraudulent use of identification documents.

According to an arrest report, Moya had worked for an Orangetheory Fitness franchise on Southwest 56th Street since January 2020.

Miami-Dade Corrections

Moya was a bookkeeper and accounting assistant and, among her duties, she processed and submitted approved payroll, vendor payments, utility payments and other approved payments and expenses, according to the report.

According to the report, a police investigation began in December after an internal audit revealed that between January 2020 and November 2023, she had committed several unauthorized transactions.

Investigators discovered that she had reactivated former employees by using their personal information to receive unauthorized wages into her personal bank account, according to the report.

She then used her access to the company’s payroll processing program to create fictitious billing runs to pay herself using employees’ identities without their knowledge or authorization to receive unauthorized direct deposits, the report says.

The scheme caused the company a total loss of $115,358, according to the report.

Moya was arrested and imprisoned. She appeared in court Wednesday where a judge appointed her a public defender and granted her $30,000 bond.