After three warrants were issued on her name, a former Sauer-Danfoss employee turned herself in on embezzlement charges.

Debera Fay Hurley, 49, Boone, turned herself into the Ames Police Thursday morning after the department issued warrants for her arrest on charges of fraud and embezzlement.

Hurley was arrested and charged with theft in the first degree, fraudulent practice in the first degree and ongoing criminal conduct, police reports said.

Officials from Sauer-Danfoss, 2800 E. 13th St., reported $450,000 in misappropriated company funds had surfaced in an annual inspection last week by the Ames Police Department, said Cmdr. Jim Robinson of the Ames Police Department.

According to police reports, in February 1998 to December 2003, an employee embezzled money from Sauer-Danfoss into a separate bank account.

Police executed a search warrant at Hurley’s residence, 521 W. 10th St., Boone, and recovered financial statements relating to the case, Robinson said.

He said a “very, very small amount [of money] was recovered” from the bank account.

Hurley, who worked in the shipping and customer relations department, submitted 183 different bills for shipping to the “bogus” bank that had already been paid, Robinson said.

Sauer-Danfoss officials said they didn’t realize the glitch until the annual internal audit was completed.

The company has both an internal and external audit system that monitors finances within the company, said Matt Bendler, human resources spokesman for Sauer-Danfoss.

Hurley was fired from the company after 24 years of employment, Bendler said.

At a company worth $1.1 to $1.2 billion dollars and has 650 employees in Ames alone, there is little to no material impact, Bendler said.

Hurley was released on zero percent bail after appearing in court. A previous bail was set at $170,000.