Federal prosecutors in St. Paul charged a Land O'Lakes Inc. accounting clerk Tuesday with skimming more than $1 million from her employer.

Cynthia Carol Jacobsen, 58, of Brooklyn Park, allegedly used her position as an accounts-payable supervisor to set up a phony vendor account in the name of a daughter, identified in court papers by the initials J.C. Public records show a person by the name of Jennifer Caza at the same address as Jacobsen.

Between 2008 and this past May 15, government charges say, Jacobsen fraudulently authorized $1.1 million in payments to the phony vendor account. The checks were mailed to Jacobsen's home, and she allegedly forged her daughter's signature and used the money for personal expenses.

The alleged diversion of funds caused Land O'Lakes to misrepresent its financial position while it lasted, the government says. Prosecutors charged Jacobsen in a felony "information" rather than a grand jury indictment, which usually indicates that a plea agreement is pending. A spokeswoman for the company said July 13 that no misrepresentation occurred.

Neither Jacobsen nor her daughter could be reached for comment.

Dan Browning • 612-673-4493