For years, Robert Auman and Dinah Maier-Auman have racked up titles and trophies in South Florida and the Caribbean for their offshore angling skills.
Their fishing tales have made the sports pages and they’ve rubbed elbows with wealthy enthusiasts – including an heir of the Bacardi Rum empire.
But, detectives said, the husband and wife financed their comfortable lifestyle, which included living part time off Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas Isles and part time in Wisconsin, by embezzling millions from Maier-Auman’semployer during the past 10 years.
Madison, Wis. police on Monday arrested Maier-Auman, 37, for theft of more than $1 million during the 10 years and said the theft may swell to more than $3 million, department spokesman Brian Ackeret said. Investigators have not been able to locate Auman, 47.
Ackeret said Maier-Auman worked for Construction Concepts Inc. in Madison since 1984. She was promoted to comptroller of the company around November 1985.
Three months after that, Auman opened an account in a Wisconsin bank under the business name Normark Construction, a dummy corporation that never existed outside of the bank account, police said.
During the next decade, Maier-Auman signed checks to Normark Construction for tens of thousands of dollars each and she apparently made false ledger entries to disguise the thefts, detectives said.
Bank employees told detectives that the deposits to the account, which consisted solely of Construction Concepts checks, totaled about $3.5 million.
On July 31, the Normark Construction account held only $1,563.99.
Detectives said the money helped finance expensive trips, jewels and boats – possibly even their well-known 50-foot Hatteras, Moonraker.
Maier-Auman’s Wisconsin attorney was unavailable for comment on Wednesday.
“It’s just gross what these people have done,” said Cynthia Fiene, who represents Construction Concepts.
Fiene said she discovered the embezzlement and that her client filed a civil suit against the Aumans Aug. 14 to try to recover the money, then called police to report the crime.
If convicted, Madison police said each faces up to 310 years in prison for the 31 embezzlement charges.
