Northern Virginia Accountant Sentenced In $1.1 Million Embezzlement Case; Had Prior History Of Embezzlement; Nearly Bankrupts Employer

Jose "Tony" Gutierrez, 46, of Winchester, Virginia, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for embezzling some $1.1 million from Transition Partners, a Reston-based IT consulting firm where he had been employed as an accountant. Gutierrez was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1.1 million. Authorities alleged that Gutierrez, who had been hired by Transition Partners in January 2005, began writing checks to himself by May 2005. The transactions were disguised as payments into a health-insurance benefits fund and that Gutierrez removed pages of bank statements showing the checks written to himself and created thousands of phony computerized accounting entries to indicate money was being paid to the Aetna insurance company. His thefts led to the laying off of 10 employees at Transition Partners and nearly bankrupted the company. He was arrested last June after a co-worker finally discovered his scheme. Gutierrez reportedly spent some of the ill-gotten gains on home improvements, luxury vehicles and vacations, among other things. We note also that according to court records, Gutierrez admitted stealing about $35,000 from the Mental Health Association of Montgomery County between 2002 and 2004, when he was the director of finance, but he reached an agreement to repay the money in exchange for no criminal charges being filed against him.

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