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Gwyneth Paltrow's Trainer Robbed of $70K by Bookkeeper, Police Say

By Noah Hurowitz | February 19, 2016 2:00pm | Updated on February 22, 2016 8:32am
 A bookkeeper stole nearly $70,000 from the company of Tracy Anderson, right, a fitness instructor who has worked with celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, left, according to police.
A bookkeeper stole nearly $70,000 from the company of Tracy Anderson, right, a fitness instructor who has worked with celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, left, according to police.
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Shutterstock/lev radin

TRIBECA — A bookkeeper for a flashy exercise franchise stole tens of thousands of dollars from her employer between August and the end of January, police said.

Evelyn Valdez, 36, of Washington Heights, stole nearly $70,000 from the coffers of Tracy Anderson Mind and Body during the five months that she was employed by the company, which runs operations for the celebrity fitness instructor Tracy Anderson, according to a criminal complaint.

Anderson, a personal trainer for the likes of Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow who seeks to help women develop “feminine muscles” and cautions that “no woman should lift more than three pounds,” operates an exercise studio in TriBeCa.

Tracy Anderson made a cameo appearance in a recent episode of "The Muppets" on ABC. See the clip below.

Valdez began working for the company on Aug. 10, and almost immediately began ripping off her employer: on Aug. 15, just five days into the new job, and again on Sept. 15, she made illegal wire transfers to herself totaling $8,000, police said.

Then on Aug. 28 and again on Nov. 12, Valdez made two wire transfers to her daughter totaling $29,000, according to a criminal complaint. And throughout her employment she paid herself and gave herself benefits totaling $33,000 more than what her position entailed, prosecutors said.

By the time she was caught Valdez had siphoned off $69,998 from Anderson's company, according to a police report.

Police from the 13th Precinct arrested Valdez on Feb. 10, and prosecutors charged her with grand larceny, court records show. A judge released her without bail pending a court date on April 14, and issued an order of protection barring her from contacting the company.

A representative of Tracy Anderson said Valdez has since been terminated, but declined to further comment.

A lawyer for Valdez did not respond to a request for comment.