Carson City woman accused of embezzling $140,000 from CINC Industries

A Carson City woman faces felony embezzlement charges after allegedly stealing an estimated $140,000 as office manager of CINC Industries, an environmental engineering company formerly owned by actor Kevin Costner.
Barbara Jean Larson, 56, was arrested October 9 and faces felony charges of obtaining money by false pretenses, uttering a forged instrument and embezzlement. She is due in Carson City Justice Court on Nov. 6. The woman admitted to stealing and told investigators that she has a gambling problem.

According to the arrest report, on September 28 at 1:37 p.m. a complaint was filed with the Carson City Sheriff's Department by Bret and Gene Sheldon, owners of CINC Industries, a manufacturer of liquid centrifuges located on Arrowhead Drive. The company acronym stands for Costner Industries Nevada Corporation. Costner sold the company to the Sheldons in 2004.

The Sheldons informed authorities Larson had worked 11 years for CINC Industries as office manager and was responsible for accounts payable and receivable and also managed the finances of the business. The Sheldons told authorities they fired Larson on Sept. 24 after discovering that she issued company checks made payable to herself, according to the arrest report.

The Sheldons provided check copies to Carson City Sheriff's Office investigators. A review of one check, which was "pay to the order of Barbara J. Larson" was for $1,098.14. The check was signed by Mr. Sheldon however he stated that he did not sign the checks and that Larson had a signature stamp with his signature, the arrest report states.

The Sheldons also supplied authorities with a bank paper register, which indicated that a check was made payable to CNC Associates, a CINC Industries vendor. Mr. Sheldon stated that CNC Associates had never received the check, the arrest report states. Providing authorities with additional copies of bank statements, registers, checks and returned checks, Sheldon said he began to look deeper into the check book and learned that Larson had done the same thing on numerous checks over the past year, the arrest report states.

In all the total amount that Larson is believed to have embezzled from CINC Industries was approximately $140,000, Sheldon told investigators.

On Tuesday, Carson City Detective Dan Gomes reviewed a check that was cashed at the Carson Nugget on August 17, 2012. The check had Larson's signature on the back, her thumb print on the front along with her driver's license information and birth date.

Gomes obtained video from the Nugget that positively identified Larson cashing the check at the cashier cage. The overhead video captured the check, Larson's Nevada ID, Larson putting her thumb print on the check and the cashier counting out $1,098.14 on the counter. The video also shows Larson taking the $1,098.14 and walking away from the counter, the arrest report states.

Detective Gomes made contact with Larson at her Slide Mountain Drive home and placed her into custody. She signed a written Miranda Right wavier and agreed to speak with the detective, the report states.

A recorder was turned on and Larson then "freely admitted to altering the bank registers to conceal the fact that she had issued numerous checks made payable to herself," the arrest report states. Larson stated that she used Mr. Sheldon's signature stamp on the checks; that she had been doing this for the past year and that Mr. Sheldon did not deserve it.

Larson stated she has a gambling problem and is responsible for taking care of her 87 year old mother. She told Detective Gomes that she does not have any of the money to give back to Mr. Sheldon and that she either used it to live on or gambled it away, the arrest report states.

Larson was booked on the charges.

CINC Industries was sold by Costner in 2004. Costner went on to make news in 2010 backing a company called Ocean Therapy Solutions, which used CINC technology designed to separate oil and water following the 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill.