GLOUCESTER, Mass. — 53-year-old Stephanie Hirshon of Boxford was arraigned in Gloucester District Court Thursday, charged with stealing more than 17-thousand dollars from her own company, AET Labs in Essex.
Police allege that on Monday, Hirshon walked into the Essex Police Department to file a report that she mistakenly sent 120-thousand dollars to hackers who were impersonating a legitimate company.
Essex Police Detective Corey Salvo sensed something wasn’t right,
When he contacted AET Labs, the owner supplied pay stubs that allegedly revealed Hirshon was padding her own salary over time. The total: $17,500.
“Sometimes people report their own crimes. It just seemed like she was trying to report one, thought it would be a quick report and be done with it. Unfortunately, we were working that day,” Detective Salvo told Boston 25’s Bob Ward.
“She pretty much admitted to everything. It seemed like she was happy to get it off her chest. So, she gave us everything we were looking at,” Essex Police Detective Alex Edwards added.
However, there is more to this case. In Framingham District Court, Hirshon was convicted in 2024 of stealing more than 50-thousand dollars from the Framingham Chamber of Commerce, where she was Co-Chair.
She was given a 2 ½ year suspended sentence and was on probation at the time of this arrest in the Essex case.
Now, a prosecutor says the Boxford Police Department is investigating Hirshon for allegedly stealing $4-thousand dollars from the Boxford PTO and writing personal checks on the PTO’s account. That case is still under investigation.
In court, a prosecutor said Hirshon deserves high bail for the Essex case.
“This defendant is unrepentant she is brazen. She is not going to stop stealing judge,” Prosecutor Pat Collins told the court.
A not guilty plea was entered on Hirshon’s behalf
Even though she allegedly told police she stole money to pay for college for her children and to save money to leave what she called an abusive relationship.
Meantime, police say they’re not sure what happened to that missing 120-thousand dollars
Hirshon is held on 50-thousand dollars bail. She is due back in court next month.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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