Woman accused of embezzling $1.2 million arrested

Melissa Burch accused of embezzling money from Broward County title company

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – It took more than a year for detectives to figure out how she did it, and one they did, they had to track her down.

Her name is Melissa Burch. She moved to Arkansas last year when things were heating up, but on Friday she was in the Broward County Jail.

Burch, 33, is accused of skimming $1.2 million from the escrow account of the now defunct company for which she worked -- North Beach Escrow and Title in Fort Lauderdale.

She handled deposits and closings for the company and managed to embezzle the money over a period of two years.

Arrest records indicate she bought a $320,000 home in Cooper City with the cash. She also bought a new truck.

But her spending eventually caught up to her. There wasn't enough cash coming in to hide the cash she was reportedly taking out.

When the jig was finally up, the judge said Burch attempted to scam detectives who were trying to track down the missing money.

Burch's ex-boss told Local 10 she explained her sudden financial windfall, claiming she came into some family money and won a car accident lawsuit.

She's being held on $150,000 bond.