Wendy’s General Manager Created ‘Ghost Employee’ And Pocketed Their Wages

In Pennsylvania, a former Wendy’s general manager was charged with theft by deception on July 14. Thirty-five-year-old Linda Johnson reportedly created a fake employee to keep their logged wages.

Authorities reported that the Monroe, Louisiana, native worked at Wendy’s in Manheim Township at 1117 Harrisburg Pike. The restaurant owners contacted the police to report a suspected fraud case at Johnson’s hands. They claimed that the woman created a fake “ghost” employee named William Bright and was collecting the wages made by the employee. Johnson manually entered upwards of 100 shifts under Bright for nearly a year, clocking in and out at her restaurant location in Lancaster, according to the Manheim Township Police Department.

The total revenue paid to the ghost employee was $19,898 between June 2021 and May last year. The almost $20,000 in discrepant cost was found after an audit at the location.

On April 19, 2023, a police officer spoke to Johnson on the phone, and she reportedly admitted that she created William Bright and assigned him shifts that no one worked to pocket the money. She admitted that she set up all of the paychecks for Bright to be directly deposited into her CashApp account and then used the money to take care of her kids. Shortly after the admission, a warrant was issued for her arrest.

Wendy’s insurer paid out around $16,000 for the fraud incident, and Johnson was charged formally with one count of theft by deception on July 7, and a criminal case was filed shortly after. The Manheim Township Police Department requests any information the public may have about Johnson and her crime. Anyone with information should call the Manheim Township Police Department at 717-569-6401 or provide information anonymously on its website under “Submit a Tip.”