North Andover Woman Accused Of Stealing $1.7M From Employer

BOSTON (CBS) -- A North Andover woman has been indicted in connection with allegedly stealing more than $1.7 million from her former employer for personal use, Attorney General Martha Coakley said Friday.

Dorothy Giard, 44, was the office manager of Diamond Ironworks, a steel fabricator in Lawrence, where she managed the company's books and paid the bills. Investigators say she used the company money between 2007 and 2012 to pay for trips and expensive goods charged to her personal credit card.

"We allege that this defendant stole over $1.7 million from her former employer to spend on luxury items and then falsified corporate books in an attempt to disguise her theft," Coakley said in a statement.

Giard allegedly spent more than $114,000 on flights to Las Vegas, New York and London. She also is accused of spending about $20,000 toward a Lincoln MKX and Mercedes, as well as car rents, furniture, about $13,000 in designer retail products and $20,000 in spa services.

In a separate allegation, Giard is said to have used the corporate credit card to pay off her timeshare in Florida, and spend $41,000 on unauthorized purchases including airfare, hotels and rental cars.

The attorney general's office began investigating in 2012 after being referred by the Tewksbury Police Department.

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