Former IHOP GM accused of stealing thousands through fake employee scheme
By Nick Matoney
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HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (WTAE) — The former general manager of the IHOP in Hempfield Township is facing multiple charges after police said he falsified payroll records and pocketed more than $10,000.
Aldo Maya Garcia, 45, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was arraigned Monday and faces a preliminary hearing next week.
State police said they were contacted in August 2024 by the regional director of the company that owns the IHOP franchise, who told them that Maya Garcia was suspected of creating fraudulent employee payroll entries.
According to investigators, financial records showed 21 checks, totaling nearly $11,000, suspected of being falsified.
Police said there is a system inside the restaurant for employees to clock in and out, but all of the suspected fraudulent entries were created from a remote device using a code.
Maya Garcia is accused of entering additional shifts for an employee who no longer worked at IHOP and of creating a fake identity for an employee who never worked there.
The total loss to IHOP due to the fraudulent activity was $12,804.
Police also said Maya Garcia was accused of theft in Ohio.
As of Wednesday morning, he was being held in the Westmoreland County Jail.
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