A janitorial worker in Baton Rouge, Louisiana office of Weichert Realtors is being sought by police allegedly stealing checks from the office and writing them to herself.
The Advocate reports Ariel Brown is being sought on 48 counts of embezzlement and forgery for the 48 checks she allegedly stole and altered between August 2025 and January 2026, resulting in $32,000 is stolen funds.
Realtor Jewel Fourrier said Brown forged her signature on the checks and deposited them at a local bank. The fraudulent transactions were made from the company’s operating and property management accounts, with the checks ranging from $300 to $900. Fourrier speculated Brown kept the amounts at those levels to avoid standing out from the valid transactions.
Brown was employed as a cleaner for Fourrier’s office, home and some vacant properties. Fourrier believed Brown took a key from the office and came in after hours to steal sheets of blank checks.
Fourrier said she confronted Brown, who confessed to the embezzlement and offered to repay the stolen amount, but that never occurred. Brown is still in possession of more than a dozen other blank checks, but they have yet to be fraudulently deposited.
