Former Crookston Office Manager Facing 16 Felony Theft Counts For Stealing More Than $250,000

53-year-old Cathy LaJesse of Grand Forks is charged with eight felony counts for diverting corporate property and eight more counts for swindling. She has been charged in Polk County.

Prosecutors say LaJesse handled finances for Kresl Properties LLC and BGB Development Group of Crookston LLC. She was responsible for collecting rent, as well as for deposits and bank statements. She worked there from 2009 until 2025.

Investigators found that from 2021 through March 2025, she stopped paying her own rent on a Crookston home, and used the companies’ software to make it look like she was paying. Police believe her unpaid rent during that time was $65,000.

Officers also say cash rent and security deposits from other tenants were recorded in the software but never showed up in the companies’ bank accounts, with missing cash payments from 2017 through early 2025 totaling more than $200,000.

Bank records that were received by a search warrant also showed over $100,000 in unexplained cash deposits that went into LaJesse’s personal account from 2018 to 2025. A Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension review found $106,000 in cash deposits beyond her known income.

Investigators say LaJesse also received Section 8 housing assistance during part of that period and would not have qualified if all of her income had been reported.

LaJesse told police the landlord forgave her rent because of her job, but property owner Bill Kresl denied that and said she only received a reduced rent rate.

A judge issued a warrant for her arrest on August 14 and set bail at $5,000. Prosecutors will see a tougher sentence if LaJesse is convicted.