The general manager of the State College area Applebee’s is facing charges for allegedly stealing more than $33,000 from the restaurant.
Shannon L. Mathis, 45, of Altoona, is accused of altering bank deposit receipts to conceal her theft of the money from the restaurant at 12 Colonnade Way, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed Friday by Patton Township .
An area director for Flynn Restaurant Group, the restaurant’s franchisee, told township police in January that multiple discrepancies between bank statements and internal records were discovered for the period of July to November 2024. The deposit receipts had been cut in half and taped together with previous receipts to show the correct date and time, but a different dollar amount than what was actually deposited, according to the affidavit.
When confronted by company management, Mathis was suspended without pay after she allegedly admitted to taking approximately $4,000 to $5,000 and altering the receipts. The restaurant group’s loss prevention office, however, found that $33,406 from 21 deposits never made it to the bank, police wrote.
In an interview with police, Mathis said she took one deposit in July to help a family member, paid it back within a week and did not know anything about altered receipts, according to the affidavit. She also denied making any incriminating statements to company management.
An assistant manager at the restaurant told police she previously had primary responsibility for submitting deposit reports, but that when she went out on medical leave in July Mathis took over the duty. When the assistant manager returned in October, Mathis was insistent that she would continue doing deposit reports herself and assigned the assistant manager to do scheduling instead, police wrote.
Another assistant manager told police Mathis was “very adamant” about submitting the deposit reports herself and not wanting anyone else to do it. On the few occasions when Mathis was out and the assistant manager was tasked with completing report, she was unable to find the bank receipts, according to the affidavit.
When a township officer attempted to contact Mathis for a second interview, she did not respond to numerous phone calls, police wrote.
Mathis is charged with felony counts of theft by unlawful taking, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, receiving stolen property and forgery, and a misdemeanor count of tampering with records.
She was arraigned Friday by District Judge Casey McClain and released on $5,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
