Bucks woman charged with embezzling from company

A Bucks County sales executive was charged Tuesday with embezzling more than $830,000 from her Levittown company over six years, according to information released by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors allege that Joan Baranek, 57, of Yardley, submitted inflated or fictitious invoices as vice president of sales at Airgas Safety 121 times between May 2006 and December 2012, netting her $830,504 in reimbursements for expenses she never incurred.

In addition, prosecutors say, Baranek in 2008 submitted a tax return claiming about $155,000 in taxable income when she should've claimed around $360,000.

Baranek's attorney, John J. Kerrigan, Jr., said that Baranek has "fully cooperated with the company, the investigators, and the U.S. Attorney's Office," but declined to comment further.

Kerrigan did say that Baranek left the company last year. - Chris Palmer