Liz Burke, WPRO News

A Johnston woman has been arrested and charged for stealing nearly $200,000 from her employer.

Rhode Island State Police say 23-yeard old Dana Collins wrote checks to herself and paid personal expenses using her employer’s accounts. According to the Associated Press, the unauthorized payments and withdrawals amounted to $197,000 since 2009.

Collins was the personal assistant to the president of the Metro Motor Group. The AP reports that the Stae Police’s Financial Crimes Unit began investigating her in September.