IHOP Manager Held in $12K Pennsylvania Payroll Theft

Aldo Maya Garcia, former general manager of the IHOP on Route 30 in Hempfield Township, Pennsylvania, is accused of stealing $12,804 by creating fake employee identities and logging fraudulent shifts, resulting in 21 bogus checks deposited into her personal accounts. The payroll scheme was discovered in August 2024 after the regional director noticed anomalies, prompting a police investigation. Garcia allegedly used her manager access to enter shifts for nonexistent and former employees, and had previously been implicated in similar thefts at an IHOP in Montgomery County, Ohio. She faces charges of theft, identity theft, and tampering with records. Garcia is currently held in Westmoreland County Jail on $75,000 bail, awaiting a preliminary hearing. Authorities confirmed the total loss to the franchise was $12,804.