Saturday, January 31, 2015

Missouri Woman Sentenced To 30 Months In Prison For Embezzling $576K

From KRCG13 on 1/29/2015:

A Columbia woman was sentenced to prison for a $576,000 mortgage fraud and embezzlement scheme during her employment at a title company.

50-year-old Terri Lynn Johnson was sentenced Wednesday to two years and six months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered her to pay over $405,000 in restitution.

Johnson was hired for a clerical position with Guaranty Land Title Company in 2001 and eventually promoted to branch manager of the Fulton office. She remained in that position until her termination in 2008.

Johnson pleaded guilty to bank fraud and money laundering in July 2013. She admitted engaging in a $300,000 mortgage fraud scheme while employed as the Fulton branch manager. Johnson refinanced the mortgage on her home twice. As a result of the false information provided, two banks approved mortgage loans for $175,000 in 2007 and $125,000 in 2008.  The combination of those loans exceeded the appraised value of Johnson’s home, which was used to secure both loans.

Johnson also admitted she embezzled over $275,000 from Landchoice, parent company of Guaranty Land Title Company.  She also wrote checks to herself totaling nearly $60,000 and deposited them into her personal checking account. She also wrote checks to her personal business totaling approximately $12,500. Johnson utilized a debit card for the account to access nearly $185,000 from that account for her personal benefit.

The total personal benefit from this embezzlement scheme is estimated to be $276,173.

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