Florida woman busted for pocketing $400K of co-worker's salary due to payroll error — thought it was a ‘bonus’

Yahoo ^ | 7/11/2025 | Victoria Vesovski

[simpson96]

For nearly a year, 29-year-old Yessica Arrua was living like a high-earning veterinarian despite working as a receptionist at a Florida horse clinic.

Thanks to a payroll mix-up, Arrua, who is originally from Argentina, allegedly pocketed more than $400,000 of another employee’s salary between February 2022 and January 2023, according to the Daily Mail. During this time, Arrua’s paychecks were nearly seven times her actual salary, according to a police report from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office.

The error went unnoticed until the Palm Beach Equine Clinic’s CFO discovered the issue and flagged it with their payroll provider, Harbor America. But what’s even more shocking is how long the payroll error went unnoticed — even the veterinarian who was supposed to be making $450,000 a year only noticed when her credit cards declined.

Arrua, a nine-year clinic employee who even knew the company’s president, is now at the center of a criminal investigation — and it was that same president who ultimately called the police.

(snip) Arrua allegedly noticed she was being overpaid and instead of reporting the error, she went on a luxury shopping spree.

The report details purchases at high-end retailers like Coach and Michael Kors, purchases at restaurants and furniture stores, and thousands of dollars sent through Zelle to someone listed as “Mama Dukes.” Investigators also discovered that $80,000 went toward buying a food truck for a friend of her mother’s. Arrua also admitted to sending additional funds to Argentina to help build a house.

She has since been formally charged with grand theft of $100,000 or more and money laundering of $100,000 or more — both first-degree felonies under Florida law.

According to Florida Statute 812.014, theft involving that amount can carry a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, along with steep fines.

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TOPICS: Chit/Chat
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[simpson96]

[simpson96]

This one needs some Ethics counseling, Laz.

[iamgalt]

“thought it was a ‘bonus’“

Yeah sure she did.

[Hyman Roth]

I’m a CFO. It took this CFO a year to catch it? BS. I check payroll before it’s sent to the bank.

[rktman]

Uh, $400k for 11 months time frame? Who was supposed to get that?

[Tell It Right]

It was a "payroll error". We've seen that movie before.

[SaveFerris]

Was that wrong?

Should she have not done that? /Costanza

[crusty old prospector]

I wanna be a veterinarian’s assistant and make that kind of coin.

[Truthsearcher]

What’s even wilder is that the person who was supposed to receive the salary didn’t notice it for a year, and only noticed it after her credit card was declined, which means she doesn’t even look at her credit card bills and pay them.

[NorthMountain]

How did “the veterinarian who was supposed to be making $450,000 a year” not notice on his/her/its first erroneous paycheck that he/she/it was being grossly underpaid?

[Red Badger]

A similar instance happened at a company I used to work for.

A welder and a company vice president had the same name. One payday the welder got the VP’s paycheck by mistake.

Boy, was he surprised!.................

[Red Badger]

A similar instance happened at a company I used to work for.

A welder and a company vice president had the same name. One payday the welder got the VP’s paycheck by mistake.

Boy, was he surprised!.................

[PeterPrinciple]

But what’s even more shocking is how long the payroll error went unnoticed — even the veterinarian who was supposed to be making $450,000 a year only noticed when her credit cards declined.

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proving my point is that most people are cashflow managers, not profit managers.

Our govt was a cashflow manager until trump arrived.

[ClearCase_guy]

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I do payroll.

No way this was a "error".

[PeterPrinciple]

The error went unnoticed until the Palm Beach Equine Clinic’s CFO discovered the issue

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The CFO took a year to find this? What does a CFO do but sign off on things?

[Gene Eric]

looks more like coordinated embezzlement

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

The veterinarian.

[Flaming Conservative]

Right. No wonder the vet charges more to clean my dog’s teeth than my dentist charges to clean mine.

[Nea Wood]

Some people, and I’ve known some of them, don’t look at anything. They assume their paychecks are being deposited in the bank, but they don’t look. They assume, as long as they still have blank checks, that they can use them. They keep using their credit cards until they’re declined. I don’t know how people can live that way, but they do.