A Minnetonka woman who paid company bills for two broadcasting firms slipped herself up to $2 million that she used to pay unauthorized personal expenses, according to criminal charges filed Thursday.

Terry Schultz-Schech, 54, was charged with eight counts of theft by swindle.

She's accused of taking at least $290,317 from Ingstad Brothers Broadcasting and Iowa City Broadcasting over the past seven years, according to the complaint filled in Hennepin County District Court.

Each count carries a possible penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Last summer the broadcasting companies discovered that Schultz-Schech, an office manager and comptroller, was using a company American Express card and company checks to pay her personal expenses and her credit card bills, the complaint said.

The complaint outlines 55 transactions in amounts ranging from $1,200 to $20,000 in which the company says Schultz-Schech "made the actual payment to herself or other unknown, not authorized entities."

Tom Ingstad, CEO of both Ingstad Brothers Broadcasting and Iowa City Broadcasting, owns 18 radio stations across Minnesota, according to NorthPine.com, a website that monitors Upper Midwest broadcasting news.

Neither Schultz-Schech nor company representatives could be reached for comment Thursday night.

ALEX EBERT