Granite Falls CFO Charged in $5.7M Embezzlement Scheme

A former Chief Financial Officer of Fagen Inc., a Granite Falls-based industrial contractor, was charged with embezzling more than $5.7 million from the company over an eight-year period.

Kirsten Ann Tjosaas, 38, of Granite Falls, is accused of carrying out a brazen embezzlement scheme between 2006 and November 2015, using her position as Corporate Controller and Chief Financial Officer to issue checks and make wire transfers totaling approximately $4.5 million from Fagen to Fairmont Investments, LLC, a Nebraska-based corporation controlled by Tjosaas.

The defendant allegedly used the signature stamp of another Fagen executive without their authority or knowledge to sign the checks, which she then deposited into a bank account at Granite Falls Bank in the name of Fairmont. Tjosaas entered false entries into Fagen’s general ledger to disguise the illegitimate checks as payments to Fagen partners or vendors, and transferred the stolen funds into her own personal bank accounts.

According to the information, Tjosaas used the illicit proceeds to buy five houses and other real estate in Florida, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Arizona, as well as at least three automobiles, two all-terrain vehicles, a motorcycle, a jet-ski, and a sailboat.

The investigation, conducted by the FBI, revealed that Tjosaas also fraudulently issued Fagen checks payable to another company, which she had access to and control over. Between June 2006 and November 2015, Tjosaas issued approximately 25 fraudulent checks into this account, totaling more than $1.2 million.

Tjosaas is charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.

The charges against Tjosaas are merely accusations, and she is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota, can be reached at (612) 664-5600 for additional information.