Laguna Beach businesswoman alleged to have stolen more than $300,000

A local businesswoman has been arrested after she allegedly stole more than $300,000 from her former employer, Laguna Beach police announced Monday.

Rebecca Buehler, who served as the controller and chief financial officer of a Laguna Beach-based furniture manufacturing business, has been charged with seven felony counts of grand theft, according to a news release. The charges include a sentencing enhancement for theft exceeding $100,000.

Authorities allege that Buehler, who was hired by the business in 2018, stole the funds from the company over a period of two years.

The business had been built over two decades, and when the owner decided to close shop due to financial hardship, a “substantial discrepancy” was discovered upon an attempt to close an associated bank account earlier this year.

Buehler used money from the company’s business account to fund a “lavish lifestyle,” which included purchases of an SUV, luxury handbags and alcohol, police allege.

Following an investigation that uncovered the scope of the theft, Laguna Beach police detectives located Buehler in Redondo Beach, where she was taken into custody and booked into the Orange County jail.