NORFOLK, Va. — A man was charged with embezzlement after stealing money from his employer, the Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's Office said.
35-year-old Noah Zachariah Wilson pleaded guilty to felony embezzlement after stealing $85,245 from a Norfolk McDonald's franchise where he was employed since May 2014.
According to officials, between January 2023 and February 2024, Zachariah diverted cash from several change orders. He requested more frequent change orders for more than the typical amount and pocketed the difference of 48 change orders.
In February 2024, McDonald's accounting firm noticed discrepancies between the franchise’s automatic bank drafts and bank deposits. After the operators were notified, an audit was conducted on all the stores owned and operated by the same people.
An audit revealed there was a short period where the change orders were normal with no money missing that lined up with the period Wilson took a leave of absence from work because he was at a treatment facility for his substance use disorder, which the owner of the McDonald's location he worked at paid for.
Wilson admitted to stealing the money after the store operators confronted him.
On Nov. 6 Wilson took a plea deal. In exchange, the Commonwealth agreed not to bring additional embezzlement indictments. Under the plea agreement, Wilson faces up to two years and nine months in prison and he agrees to pay $85,000 in restitution to the victim.
Wilson is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 24, 2025.
“A crime does not need to involve violence to be devastating. Noah Wilson betrayed his employer’s trust and stole a major amount of money, all while taking advantage of his employer’s kindness as his employer paid for him to address his drug use,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “At sentencing we will seek a prison sentence that reflects Mr. Wilson’s repeated and brazen actions.”
