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Midlothian woman arrested for stealing $800,000 from Virginia Physicians for Women

Posted at 3:36 PM, Jul 06, 2015
and last updated 2015-07-06 23:54:43-04

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- A Midlothian woman was arrested and charged with 11 counts of felony embezzlement from Virginia Physicians for Women. Edith W. Harris, 51, took more than $800,000 from the Midlothian Turnpike location over the last five years, police said.

Patients leaving Virginia Physicians for Women on Monday expressed shock that police say Harris stole more than $800,000 from them.

“That`s crazy…I always just assumed it was being taken care of the correct way,” patient Gabrielle Latora said.

Chesterfield Police said a patient asked VPFW why they never received their refund, which sparked the investigation.

“At that point they began to dig into the refund, and found there were actually more refunds that didn`t get back to their patients,” Lt. Steve Grohowski, a detective with the Chesterfield Police Department, said.

Grohowski said Harris embezzled more than $800,000 from patient’s accounts over at least five years.

“She was apparently a billing specialist, and she was responsible for providing refunds to patients,” Grohowski said. “In this case it`s pretty clear on money going from Virginia Physicians to different bank accounts,”

Virginia Physicians For Women sent CBS 6 a statement saying this impacts less than one percent of patients, and they are working to reinstate the money.

They added that if your account was impacted you will be notified of any credit as it occurs.

Grohowski said police might discover more accounts that were impacted.

“She’s worked for Virginia Physicians since September 2008, so our investigation has gone back at this point to about 2010, but we still have to do some more work,” Grohowski said.

Harris, who worked as a billing specialist, was arrested Monday, June 29. She was released from Chesterfield Jail on a $50,000 bond.

Anyone with additional information about Harris or the crime can submit a news tip here.

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