Deer Park woman accused of stealing $7,032 from dead employer's company

Suffolk County police arrested a Deer Park woman on July 2 after accusing her of stealing $7,032 from Paragon Advertising in Hauppauge after the company’s owner died. Investigators say Precious Ortiz, 34, wrote two checks from the business and then falsified company records so the payments appeared to be legitimate vendor expenses.

Police said the checks were written to her boyfriend’s business after the owner of Paragon Advertising died on Feb. 26. The company is located at 70 Corporate Drive in Hauppauge, and Ortiz lives at 106 Sutton Court in Deer Park. She was taken into custody at the Third Precinct and held at the Fourth Precinct ahead of her scheduled arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip on July 3.

The allegation turns on a small company at a vulnerable moment. When an owner dies, payment routines can become easier to exploit if one employee still has access to checks, records and vendor files. In this case, police say Ortiz used that access to redirect company money, then altered the books to keep the transactions from standing out during a period of transition.

For families and small employers, the immediate safeguards are plain: freeze check-writing authority as soon as possible, collect blank checks and account passwords, review every recurring vendor, and require a second person to approve outgoing payments. Bank alerts, dual signatures on checks, and a quick audit of bookkeeping entries can help stop losses before they grow. The first days after a death are often the most exposed, when confusion over who can sign, pay bills or update records can leave a business open to abuse.

Suffolk County police said the charge is only an accusation and that Ortiz is presumed innocent until proven guilty. For local employers, the case is a reminder that even a $7,032 loss can expose how quickly trust and weak controls can unravel inside a small Suffolk County business.