Former Pocatello restaurant server arrested for allegedly stealing from customers

POCATELLO — A woman police say stole small amounts of money from dozens of customers between January and March has been charged with 58 felonies.

Samantha Nova Wolff, 43, faces 29 counts of fraud and 29 counts of grand theft, court records show.

Pocatello police received a report on May 14 of numerous thefts, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The reporting party, a manager at a local restaurant, told officers she was looking into an issue reported by a customer found that Wolff, a former employee, had altered customers’ credit card tips to take more money than was given.

At the time of her reporting, the manager told officers she had gone through Wolff’s receipts between Jan. 8 and March 19 and found $103.86 in thefts, the affidavit says.

The manager said that Wollf’s customers were writing a tip on the restaurant’s receipt but Wolff was reporting a different tip total. She discovered the thefts when a customer called to say that she had not left a tip but was charged an amount greater than the amount listed on her receipt.

As part of their investigation, officers examined receipts themselves. According to the affidavit, officers found 29 separate transactions completed by Wolff for amounts greater than what was written by the customers.

Wolff, who was fired from the restaurant when the thefts were discovered, was arrested and taken to Bannock County Jail, where she was booked and is being held on a $10,000 bond.

Though Wolff has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean she committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

If she is found guilty, Wolff would face up to 551 years in prison.