Trusted clerk embezzled $289,000 from Costco while calling subordinates incompetent
Around the time she filed for bankruptcy in 2011, Puyallup resident Robin Cline started stealing from her employer.
Since she worked in accounts receivable at a Costco Business Center in Fife, her actions involved more than skimming change from the till.
According to federal court records, Cline, 54, embezzled almost $300,000 from Costco over a five-year period, using more than 100 customer accounts to cover her tracks. She created double billings and fixed the “mistakes” with accompanying refunds.
The money didn’t go to customers. Cline funneled it into her son’s bank account, and used it to buy cars, cruises and Hawaiian vacations. She enriched herself even as she completed her 2011 bankruptcy filing, which listed $254,450 in unpaid debts.
Monday, Cline 54, was sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle called her actions “outrageous.”
Her bosses discovered the embezzlement in 2016 when Cline went on extended medical leave, court records said. By then, she’d worked at the company for 20 years. A letter to the court signed by Robert Parker, vice president of Costco’s business centers, referred to auditors and managers who trusted Cline even as she lied to them.
“Robin stole this money using a detailed scheme that was planned out, requiring preparation and almost constant attention to conceal and continue,” Parker wrote. “lt was carried out over five plus years, starting small and becoming bolder and bolder with each successive year.”
Parker added a footnote of disdain, saying that Cline lied about lower-level employees who were supposed to learn the company’s accounting system from her.
“Robin told Senior Management the employees were incompetent, unable to learn the information and perform the tasks necessary,” Parker wrote. “She deliberately lied about them for over five years for the sole purpose of concealing her thefts.”
Federal prosecutors had recommended a two-year sentence for Cline. Her attorneys asked for six months, noting that she has three children and no prior criminal record. They added that she suffers from depression and anxiety.
Judge Settle’s ruling took a middle line, opting for a year of confinement. Cline was also ordered to pay more than $289,000 in restitution. Court records indicate that Costco reimbursed individual customers whose accounts were compromised and added a 10 percent payment on top of the amounts lost.
This story was originally published December 18, 2018 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Trusted clerk embezzled $289,000 from Costco while calling subordinates incompetent."
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