Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced that Ida Veronica Hernandez a 45-year-old woman, pleaded guilty on January 21, 2026, to seven felony counts of grand theft and one felony count of filing a false or forged document, arising from an extensive embezzlement scheme committed while she was employed as a bookkeeper for a Thousand Oaks medical practice. Hernandez also admitted a special allegation that the losses exceeded $100,000.
Between 2020 and 2021, Hernandez was entrusted with access to company bank accounts and financial records in her role as office manager and bookkeeper. Instead of using that access for legitimate business purposes, Hernandez transferred large sums of the business’s money into bank accounts controlled by herself and her relatives. Investigators determined that Hernandez used multiple aliases and created fictitious employees to conceal the thefts, directing payroll payments to accounts she controlled. Hernandez stole at least $556,000 from the business.
During the investigation, it was discovered that Hernandez also committed identity theft against coworkers and attempted to deflect attention from herself by falsely implicating a coworker in her financial crimes. Hernandez abruptly quit her position once the financial irregularities began to surface.
By the time the case was fully investigated and filed in Ventura County, Hernandez had fled the area. She then allegedly committed similar thefts in Orange County, resulting in a warrant being issued for her arrest. She is also accused of additional financial crimes in Plano, Texas. Hernandez subsequently fled Texas and was tracked by investigators as she traveled across the country.
The case was investigated by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Major Fraud Unit.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Howard Wise, a member of the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Fraud and Technology Crimes Unit, prosecuted the case.
Hernandez remains in custody on $600,000 bail pending sentencing, which is scheduled for February 20, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. in courtroom 24 of the Ventura County Superior Court.