RIVER FALLS – A former River Falls employee is accused of stealing more than $100,000 from her former employer.

Jill Marie McCorkel, 54, Lake Elmo, Minn., formerly of Hudson, posted a $2,500 signature bond Feb. 19 in St. Croix County Circuit Court on felony theft – business setting > $100,000, felony money laundering – knowingly conducts unlawful transaction (over $100,000), two felony identity theft – obtain money or credit card and felony financial transaction card – fraudulent use > $5,000-$10,000 charges. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 12.5 years in prison and/or fines up to $25,000.

According to the complaint:

River Falls police officers were dispatched at 2:59 p.m. Oct. 16, 2024 to BOH Electronics (677 Whitetail Blvd., River Falls) for a theft complaint.

The business owner told police that he had caught former Human Resources Manager Jill Marie McCorkel cutting checks to herself and using the company credit card without permission. After going through a transaction log, he saw that McCorkel had been writing herself extra checks and paying herself more than she should. He told police that McCorkel used to subcontract for the company on top of the human resources manager position.

McCorkel had worked for BOH for about 2.5 years; the owner fired her on July 30, 2024 after discovering the theft. He went through his U.S. Bank statement and found multiple charges done without permission from the business credit card after McCorkel had been fired, leading him to believe she had written the card’s number down for personal use.

The owner said the fraud began in February 2022 when McCorkel approved a $4,000 payment to another employee, who told the owner about the extra payment. McCorkel told the owner the payment was an error or an accident but never took the money back. The employee who received it had been trying to work the debt off, the owner said.

The owner provided police with the payroll transaction log and the credit card statement. He noted names listed on the U.S. Bank log, such as McCorkel’s boyfriend (she Venmoed him $500 twice on Sept. 19, 2024, $1,545 on Sept. 20, 2024, then $2,060 on Sept. 24, 2024. She Venmoed her boyfriend from the business account four more times in October 2024 for approximately $2,000. She also sent her sister money via Venmo during that time period for almost $1,000. The employee listed above who received the extra $4,000 received $721 from McCorkel via Venmo on Oct. 1, 2024 and sent her $70 back. McCorkel kept the rest.

The owner also showed officers purchases for Roku for CBS/Peacock and Hulu, and checks made out to McCorkel totaling $13,663.44. At that point, the total loss to BOH was believed to be $26,176.83. The owner said he had received a text from McCorkel’s cell phone claiming to be her sister, who said McCorkel was committed to a facility for drug and alcohol abuse.

He told police he has a message from McCorkel admitting what she did, saying that she would pay him back.

Police spoke to McCorkel’s sister, who said McCorkel was sending her money via Venmo, then would ask her to send it back. The sister kept $50 that McCorkel owed her for being on her cellphone plan, then sent the rest back to her. She claimed to know nothing of where the money was coming from and thought it was McCorkel’s own money. Venmo pulled back the money, leaving her short $991. She said McCorkel knew about the money being pulled back and promised to pay her back.

On Oct. 31, 2024, police obtained a search warrant for McCorkel’s Venmo account, where they found BOH’s US Bank card number added to her account. That card number was used to send $8,404.80 to three people, including McCorkel’s boyfriend and sister and the other employee.

On May 5, 2025, the owner reported additional fraud to police. BOH had used a vendor or contract worker called Wiggle Wire in 2020 and 2021. A rep for Wiggle Wire contacted BOH and told them the IRS was garnishing checks for unpaid taxes on income. Wiggle Wire informed BOH that a 1099 had been filled out by BOH for 2022-2024 for Wiggle Wire, but the company had done no work for BOH during that time. McCorkel had filled out the 1099 after making payments to an account listed in business records as Wiggle Wire, which turned out to be McCorkel’s personal account or an account she had access to. The loss was around $50,000-$60,000. The owner provided police documentation of the transactions McCorkel had tried to cover up before she was fired; he also learned that McCorkel had contacted the payroll company that BOH uses and tried to have the payments to Wiggle Wire zeroed out.

After speaking to the owner of Wiggle Wire, police learned she had received a letter from the IRS stating she owed more than $16,000 in back taxes on work she had allegedly done for BOH. The investigation revealed that McCorkel had direct deposited nearly $150,000 from BOH into her accounts, attempting to disguise the fraud by using the names of other companies or LLCs.

McCorkel was previously charged with felony financial transaction card – fraudulent use > $5,000-$10,000, felony money laundering – knowingly receives/acquires proceeds over $5,000-$10,000 and felony identify theft – obtain money or credit card Dec. 11, 2024. However, those charges were dismissed Jan. 14, and the new case was filed.

McCorkel’s next court appearance is a status conference at 11:30 a.m. March 27 in Court Room 3 at the St. Croix County Government Center (1101 Carmichael Road, Hudson).