The boyfriend of a Moraine Pointe Plaza restaurant employee was sentenced to probation Thursday for benefiting from an alleged payroll fraud scheme that netted the employee more than $48,000.

Judge William Shaffer sentenced Christopher John Sweet, 48, of Philadelphia, to one year of probation for theft after Sweet pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy to commit theft March 2.

Sweet admitted to receiving about $48,000 while falsely employed at Long John Silver's in 2018-19. During his employment, he was serving a prison sentence for the armed robbery of a purported Philadelphia house of prostitution.

Police accused Sweet of gaining this income from his girlfriend, Michele L. Krzewinski, who maintains her innocence in the case.

Krzewinski faces felony charges of forgery, theft by deception, conspiracy, receiving stolen property, unlawful use of a computer and computer trespass as well as misdemeanor counts of tampering with records and unsworn falsification to authorities. Her case is active.

As part of Sweet's sentence, he must pay $24,318 in restitution to the victim. Sweet's attorney, Leland Clark, told the court that Krzewinski is responsible for paying back the other half.

Police said Krzewinski met Sweet while he was in the State Correctional Institution in Forest County. He was locked up for a violent crime in 2001. According to court records, he and several individuals disguised themselves as police officers and, armed with handguns, robbed an establishment in Philadelphia's Chinatown that apparently was being used as a prostitution house.

The charges followed an internal investigation by Long John Silver's officials, said Butler Township police Detective Max Wittlinger.

Krzewinski had worked at the restaurant as an area supervisor.

“She had the authority to hire and go in (and) change the pay clock system,” Wittlinger said Thursday of the investigation, which followed the internal probe.

She oversaw nine or 10 restaurants in Butler and area counties.

Her position entailed the use of a company laptop computer, Wittlinger said, which provided remote access to her restaurants.

It also allegedly allowed her to hire fake employees who never worked for the company, but were created by payroll to divert funds.

Wittlinger accused Krzewinski of adding Sweet's name to the payroll as an employee at Long John Silver's in Moraine Pointe Plaza.

Between May 12, 2018, and Oct. 25, 2019, when Sweet was on the employee books, he “earned” $48,636.15.

The restaurant notified police in October after uncovering the alleged scheme following Krzewinski's firing for poor performance, police said.