Charlotte couple stole over $4M from wife’s employer to fuel lavish lifestyle, lawsuit says

The owners of a Charlotte tree company are suing a local couple, claiming they spent over $4 million to buy themselves pricey Swiss jewelry, watches and shoes, and to pay off debts with money stolen from the company.

Cadieu Tree Experts, a family-owned tree removal and trimming service company, claimed Stephanie and Dain Wiedner of south Charlotte “intentionally cultivated a relationship” with the Cadieus to gain access and control of the business bank accounts.

Stephanie Wiedner had access to the Cadieu Tree Experts’ bank account because she worked as the company’s bookkeeper and administrator, according to the lawsuit.

Wiedner also was given access to the Cadieus’ personal bank account for commercial real estate transactions, rental revenue, taxes and expenses for business purposes, the lawsuit stated. That account had an “excess of $3 million to pay for tax liabilities,” court documents show.

Tree company owners Marion and Joseph Cadieu say their business bank accounts were fraudulently used to pay for the Wiedners’ extravagant lifestyle from October 2022 until the ”stolen funds” were discovered in October 2024, according to the lawsuit.

The extent of the theft is unclear, as the plaintiff continues to review banking records and other documents, according to the lawsuit.

The Wiedners alleged actions is a Class F felony, according to the lawsuit. It’s unclear if criminal charges had been filed in the case.

Attorneys for the Cadieus declined to comment. The Wiedners’ lawyers did not respond to a request for comment.

The Cadieuses are represented by Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin. The Wiedners are represented by James, McElroy and Diehl.

The lawsuit, filed in November in Mecklenburg County Clerk of Superior Court, has since been designated to N.C. Business Court, which handles complex business litigation cases.

The suit did not indicate whether Stephanie Wiedner still works for the company.

Lawsuit: ‘Unauthorized payments’ over two years

The alleged fraud began in October 2022, when Wiedner unlawfully added her husband to Cadieu Tree’s payroll, according to the suit. Dain Wiedner was paid $12,500 a month adding up to “more than $200,000 in unauthorized salary payments,” according to the lawsuit.

“The Wiedners caused Cadieu Tree’s monthly expenditures to increase from $200,000-$250,000 a month in expenses to over $500,000 a month with no concurrent reasonable justification,” the lawsuit stated.

To avoid detection over two years, the Wiedners made repeated and frequent small money transfers back and forth between the Cadieus’ commercial real estate account to the tree company’s operations account to pay for direct purchases by the Wiedners, according to claims in the lawsuit.

“The sheer number of transfers between the accounts... remains a significant impediment to determining the full extent of the funds obtained unlawfully” by the Wiedners from the plaintiffs, the lawsuit stated.

The Wiedners also created other accounts and online electronic charges to “disguise the nature and extent of the personal charges paid,” according to the lawsuit, which noted that the total amount transferred between the Cadieus’ accounts was nearly $4.7 million to fund their additional expenses.

Shopping, credit cards and loans

For two years, the Wiedners paid over $3 million toward their personal American Express credit card from the Cadieu operations account, according to the lawsuit.

Another $200,000, the lawsuit said, was paid to the Wiedners’ personal credit card accounts with Capital One, Citibank, Wells Fargo and Discovery.

The lawsuit included 14 examples of “unauthorized and unlawful” transfers for purchases at high-end retailers like Nordstrom’s and Christian Louboutin, as well as a purchase of $295 for Annalee dolls, plus home furnishings. Among the highest purchases, according to the lawsuit, are:

▪ $15,666 toward the purchase and finance of a Volvo for Dain Wiedner, starting in June 2023 through August 2024.

▪ $8,151 for one or more Swiss watches from Swatch in November 2023.

▪ $6,617 for Swiss jewelry from Richemont in July 2024.

▪ $5,009 for Louis Vuitton handbags and personal items from January to August 2024.

▪ $4,687 in jewelry purchases from Tiffany & Co. in July 2024.

▪ $4,478 to purchase Christian Dior “personal items” from January to July 2024.

The Wiedners also spent no less than $275,000 beginning last May on home improvements, according to the lawsuit.

After the fraudulent activity was discovered in October 2024, the Wiedners began converting the stolen money into real property and obtaining loans, according to the lawsuit.

On Oct. 28, the Wiedners secured a home equity loan of credit against their Carmel Road property for $500,000 from Skyla Credit Union. In 2021, Premier Federal Credit Union merged into Charlotte Metro Federal Credit Union, creating Skyla.

Dain Wiedner and Stephanie Reardon, unmarried at the time, purchased the 3,996-square-foot, four-bedroom ranch home on nearly one acre for $450,000 in 2015, Mecklenburg County property records show. The appraised value is now $726,600.

Skyla also is named as a defendant in the case. Bank officials did not respond to requests for comment.