A dispatcher at a local trucking/transportation company was arrested Tuesday for stealing over $85,000 from his employer, said Sheriff Steve Prator.

As a dispatcher, 26-year-old Joseph Patterson was also responsible for paying drivers, so he had access to the company’s payroll account. Between July 24, 2011, and February 6, 2012, Patterson loaded $85,600 onto payroll cards in the names of previous employees. He then sent bogus emails to the person in charge of the payroll cards saying the employees requested their pin numbers be reset. Patterson then withdrew the money he had deposited onto the cards from local ATMs. 

Caddo Sheriff’s Detective Yomeka Evans said there were over 175 withdrawals using the three compromised cards. The theft was discovered after the company sent W-2 forms to its employees and was contacted by one of the former employees whose payroll card had been compromised.

Patterson was arrested by Evans for felony theft and booked into the Caddo Correctional Center.