Linda Johnson, 35, a manager at a Wendy’s restaurant in Los Angeles, is accused of creating a “ghost employee” named William Bright and clocking him in and out 128 times.

Mr Bright ‘earned’ around $20,000 (around €18,000 or £16,000) from June 2021 to May 2022, Manheim Township Police Department said.

The scam was discovered following a forensic audit and interviews with workers in the restaurant, none of whom could remember Mr Bright.

When police questioned Ms Johnson, she allegedly admitted inventing the employee and depositing his wages into her account.

Ms Johnson now faces a criminal trial for theft by deception.