ASBURY – Police said a staff member of an Asbury Park Hotel has stolen over $400,000 from his employer and has been arrested and charged with theft.
Larry Dembrun, Jr., 40, of Montclair, was charged with theft of over $400,000 from his employer Salt Hotels, the owner of the Asbury Hotel, Asbury Lanes, and the Asbury Ocean Club, all located in Asbury Park. His position with the company was regional manager, which gave him responsibility to manage all three businesses.
On June 27, the Asbury Park Police Department began investigation after the hotel contacted police saying an internal audit had revealed Dembrun had written numerous checks to pay a personal credit card bill, and had also issued unauthorized checks to himself and to members of the hotel staff.
After investigation, it was determined that between January of 2018 and June of 2020 Dembrun stole $486,882.17 from the company.
Police said Dembrun successfully stole money in multiple ways:
- Unauthorized checks written from the Asbury Hotel’s operating account to pay his personal American Express bills totaled $159,898.32.
- He made cash withdrawals from the operating account that totaled $165,144.25 and deposited them in incremental amounts into his personal checking account.
- He issued unauthorized payroll checks to himself in the amount of $12,603.
- He also took cash from the Asbury Lanes expense account in the amount of $51,150, and kept cash that should have been deposited in the amount of $6,791.25.
- He wrote “bonus” and “incentive” checks to hotel staff totaling $91,295.
On September 22, the Asbury Park Police Department and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office arrested Dembrun for theft. If convicted of second degree theft, Dembrun faces up to ten years in prison.
Charges are merely accusations until proven in a court of law.
