Bookkeeper Convicted of Burning Down San Diego Business to Cover up Missing $700,000

An audit found that the money had gone missing over a four-year period at the company, which sold and installed auto parts.

Firefighters battle the blaze at Off Road Warehouse in the Kearny Mesa area of San Diego on March 28, 2019. U.S. Attorney's Office

A bookkeeper was convicted April 8 for intentionally setting fire to a Kearney Mesa business to cover up the disappearance of more than $700,000, the United States Attorney’s Office said in an April 8 statement.

Carey Alice Hernandez, 46, was found guilty by jurors of malicious destruction of a building by means of fire, witness tampering and making false statements after a four-day trial for what prosecutors called a “multimillion-dollar loss,” according to the statement.