Woman pleads guilty to theft of $6,100 from Harvard packaging company

A woman admitted Thursday to stealing more than $6,000 from a Harvard packaging corporation and was sentenced to two years probation.

Jennifer A. Tripoli, 46, of Belvidere pleaded guilty to one count of forgery, a Class 3 felony, as part of a plea deal. In exchange for her guilty plea, additional theft charges were dismissed, according to the order filed in McHenry County court.

She also was sentenced to eight days in the county jail but with credit for four days already spent in custody that was considered served, Judge Mark Gerhardt said. She also must pay restitution.

Tripoli is accused of stealing $6,100 from the Catty Corporation in Harvard between Oct. 24 and Dec. 29, 2022, by modifying the company’s payroll system without authorization to increase her wages during that time, according to the indictment and statements by Assistant State’s Attorney Ashur Youash said during the hearing Thursday.

The company makes flexible packaging for food, dairy, confectionery, pharmaceutical and specialty markets, according to its website.

In 2009, Tripoli was convicted of forgery in Winnebago County, according to court documents. The conviction stemmed from a 2006 case, in which she was charged with three counts of forgery and one count of misusing a credit card with the intent to defraud the issuer, according to the indictment.

She was accused of using three checks – one for $164.37, another for $600 and the last for $250 – belonging to another and using another person’s credit card to buy clothing and other items from Gordman’s, according to the indictment.