Pearland company accuses Cypress resident of embezzlement

A company in Pearland is suing after, it says, employees abused their positions in the business to embezzle funds.

Pearland’s Upstage Center Inc. filed a lawsuit on June 7 in Harris County District Court against Karen Christian and Cypress resident Tommy Sanchez alleging, among other things, conversion, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty.

Upstage says that in 2005 and 2006, it lost money when its bookkeeper, defendant Christian, started embezzling funds from the company. During this time, defendant Sanchez was Christian’s supervisor. According to the brief, Christian’s actions included changing payees on checks, writing checks to herself and Sanchez for more than their regular pay and cashing company checks for her personal use.

Upstage Center is seeking actual, exemplary and punitive damages, as well as attorney’s fees and court costs. It is being represented in the case by The Woodlands attorney Richard Thompson.

Harris County District Court Case No. 2011-34417.     

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Harris County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.