Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office arrest couple for stealing $37,000 from Houma business

HOUMA, La. (WGNO) — On June, 7 the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of two Houma residents in connection to a theft investigation at a local business.

According to Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Tim Soignet, 25-year-old Chelsea McElroy and 23-year-old Martin Anthony Verdin Jr. were arrested for felony theft charges in connection with an investigation, where over $37,000 was stolen according to police.

On Facebook, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office released information on the arrest.

According to police, On June 3, Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Detectives received a complaint from a Houma business, that located financial discrepancies after a recent employee resigned from the business. The business reported that during a check of the financial accounts, they discovered that the business was missing over $37,000.

The business located evidence to suggest that a recent employee, Chelsea McElroy, was responsible for stealing over $30,000 from a transaction that was days before her resignation.

In the post, TPSO reported that Chelsea McElroy, who worked in the finance department of the business, was responsible for completing bank deposits and other financial transactions for the business. Detectives learned that McElroy did have access to the stolen funds during the time of the suspected theft. Detectives also learned that McElroy also had access to an additional $7,000, which was believed to have been stolen on May 24, 2022.

Detectives were able to locate McElroy at her home and took her in for questioning where she admitted to stealing the money.

Terrebonne Detectives later returned to McElroy’s home, where they were able to recover over $37,000 in cash, during a search of the residence.

Additionally, additional information led to the involvement of McElroy’s live-in boyfriend, Martin Anthony Verdin Jr.

Both McElroy and Martin were arrested on charges of felony theft and were booked into the Terrebonne Parish Criminal Justice Complex.

Chelsea McElroy and Martin Verdin Jr. remained jailed on the charges with no bond.