Leucadia Pizzeria Bookkeeper Admits Embezzling $545,000

A former bookkeeper who embezzled more than $545,000 from the Leucadia Pizzeria chain pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony charges.

Susan Dawn Seibert, 49, will be sentenced to four years in prison on July 24 after admitting to embezzlement and forgery.

Authorities said Seibert forged checks to herself during her four years with the company. She quit her job last year when she learned the restaurant planned to audit the books, according to Deputy District Attorney Anna Winn.

The audit showed Seibert had written 172 checks to herself from the Leucadia Pizzeria account, Winn said, adding that the checks were forged with an owner's signature.

Winn said Seibert covered up the embezzlement by listing legitimate vendors as recipients of the checks.

Seibert told the pizzeria owners she took the money to pay back a previous employer who had sued her for embezzlement, Winn said.

Leucadia Pizzeria has stores in Encinitas, UTC and Rancho Santa Fe.