Geneva’s Herrington Inn employee charged with felony theft of more than $30K

GENEVA – A 10-year employee at the Herrington Inn & Spa was charged with one count of felony theft of more than $30,000 from the business, according to police reports and court records.

Vanessa R. Strass, 40, of the 100 block of South Sugar Grove Parkway, Sugar Grove, was charged March 23 with theft of more than $10,000 but less than $100,000 through false credit card refunds, documents show.

Strass posted $1,000 bail or 10% of the $10,000 bond that was set, court records show.

The hotel’s credit card processing company called the Herrington manager to report it received a suspicious transaction on Dec. 8, 2022 – a refund for $750 – but without a preceding charge to the credit card, according the police report.

A search warrant was served to the credit card processing company, which provided the full 16-digit numbers for four credit cards that belonged to Strass, according to the police report.

Documents revealed 95 “refund credits” were issued from March 2021 and December 2022 for a total amount of $30,313.24, all without a preceding charge, according to the police report.

Strass is scheduled to appear in court again May 16.

The charge is a Class 2 felony, punishable by four to seven years in prison and fines up to $25,000, or up to 48 months of probation, if convicted.

Strass’s attorney David Stevens said he could not comment.