Lake Elsinore Woman Accused Of Embezzling $100K From Tom's Farms

A Lake Elsinore woman accused of embezzling over $100,000 from Tom’s Farms is in custody after being on the lam for nearly two months, police reported Friday.

Michelle Mendizabal, 38, is awaiting extradition to California after being nabbed in Arizona Dec. 15, police reported.

Mendizabal allegedly embezzled the cash during her eight-year tenure as manager of Corona-based Tom’s Farms Old Fashioned Hamburgers, according to police.

In October, Tom's Farms management confronted Mendizabal regarding the alleged pinching and she resigned the following day, according to police. Following her resignation, Tom’s Farms accountants conducted a financial audit and determined their losses were over $100,000, according to police.

When local investigators attempted to contact Mendizabal at her residence on Langstaff Street in Lake Elsinore, they learned she had fled to Phoenix to avoid prosecution, police allege.

Local investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Mendizabal and provided the information to the Phoenix Police Department. Investigators there were able to track the suspect to a suburb on the city’s south side, according to local police.

On Dec. 15, investigators from the Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station traveled to Phoenix to conduct a follow-up interview with Mendizabal, who was taken into custody near her residence for the arrest warrant without incident, according to police. She was booked into the Maricopa County Jail and is currently awaiting extradition, according to police.