Worker charged in Elmhurst hospital theft

A young Wheaton woman will make her first court appearance this week after being accused of stealing thousands of dollars while an Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare employee.

Victoria A. Haliotis, 23, of the 1900 block of Kingsbrook, will be arraigned Tuesday on a felony theft charge. A DuPage County grand jury indicted her earlier this month.

Haliotis is charged with stealing more than $41,000 during a nearly three-month period that ended in late July after an internal audit uncovered the missing funds, court records revealed.

Prosecutors said Haliotis worked as a deposit vault worker for the hospital. It was her job to prepare daily proceeds for transfer to a bank but, instead, she is accused of pocketing some of the money and destroying receipts.

"The organization became aware of it through the mechanisms we have in place to identify these types of issues," said Kyle Bauer, a hospital spokesman. "The employee is no longer with the organization and we're working with the police department as they continue their investigation."

Police arrested Haliotis July 30. She was set free later that day after posting the required 10 percent of a $75,000 bond. Haliotis does not have a prior criminal record.

Elmhurst police declined to release information to the public about the arrest, which occurred almost a month ago, saying it remains a pending investigation.