May 7—EAU CLAIRE — The former manager of the Subway restaurant located in the Eau Claire Walmart stole more than $112,000 in cash deposits from the business over an 18-month period, authorities say.

Lori L. Burich, 48, 1307 Water St., Chippewa Falls, is charged in Eau Claire County Court with a felony count of theft in a business setting.

Burich is scheduled to make her initial court appearance on May 17.

According to the criminal complaint:

The owners of the Walmart Subway restaurant at 3915 Gateway Drive contacted police Jan. 13 after their accounting firm advised that a large number of the restaurant's cash deposits were never deposited in the bank in 2021.

According to an initial review of their business account from Jan. 21 to May 21 in 2021, more than $30,000 in cash deposits were never made.

The owners said Burich was the manager of the Walmart Subway during this period of time. They said Burich was normally responsible for making the cash deposits but the deposit books that record those deposits were missing.

The owners confronted Burich about the missing cash deposits. They said Burich admitted she never made the deposits and kept the cash.

Burich also admitted to the owners she threw away all of the deposit books. The owners said Burich signed a written statement admitting to these actions.

The owners told police that when a restaurant cash register contained too much money, employees would remove the cash from the register and deposit it in a slot in the safe, which was located inside the restaurant.

At the end of the day, the owners said, their computer system would create a spreadsheet of how much money was made that particular day.

Burich had access to the safe where the cash deposits were placed and had the responsibility to go to the bank and deposit the money on a daily basis. The owners said the vast majority of these deposits would have been handled by Burich, but there were occasions when another manager would make the deposits.

The owners determined that from Dec. 20, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2021, more than $82,000 in cash deposits were never made. Burich told the owners she didn't steal anywhere near that amount of money.

The owners provided police with the Jan. 13 signed statement from Burich admitting she kept deposits as well as an additional notarized statement from Burich from Jan. 21 in which she agreed to pay back all of the missing cash deposits.

Two other managers also made some cash deposits. But the owners said they had no problems with the cash deposits until Burich started making them. The other two managers were interviewed by police and denied taking any money from the business.