Idaho Man Pleads Guilty To Embezzling $280,000

From the Idaho State Journal on 12/3/2014:

Matthew Lewis Udy, 45, of Idaho Falls, pleaded guilty today to unauthorized use of an access device involved in the theft of more than $280,000 from his employer, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced Tuesday. 

According to the plea agreement, Udy was hired in December of 2009 in Idaho Falls as a business and financial manager and was entrusted to handle his employer’s personal investments, rental properties and other financial matters.  

 From April 2011 through September 2013, Udy stole $150,346.52 from his employer related to his employer’s rental properties. During the same time period, Udy fraudulently used five credit card accounts belonging to his employer, using the accounts to make unauthorized personal purchases. Udy used the accounts to receive $130,189 in payments or other things of value, including gift cards and hotel rooms.

When interviewed by law enforcement, Udy admitted to disguising fraudulent credit card transactions by mirroring legitimate transactions and only paying the accounts with his employer’s funds.

The charge of unauthorized use of an access device is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release.

Sentencing is set for Feb. 17, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

Read the whole story here.


Update (3/19/2015):  Udy was sentenced to 27 months in prison:

Matthew Lewis Udy, 45, of Idaho Falls, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court to 27 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for unauthorized use of an access device, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.     

U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Udy to pay $275,488 restitution to his victims. Udy pleaded guilty on Dec. 2.                                                                                   
According to the plea agreement, Udy was hired in December 2009 in Idaho Falls as a business and financial manager, and was entrusted to handle his employer’s personal investments, rental properties, and other financial matters. From April 2011 through September 2013, Udy stole $150,346 from his employer related to his employer’s rental properties.

Also, in the same period, Udy fraudulently used five credit-card accounts belonging to his employer to make unauthorized personal purchases.
 

Udy used the accounts to receive $130,189 in payments or other things of value, including gift cards and hotel rooms.
 

When interviewed by law enforcement, Udy admitted to disguising fraudulent credit-card transactions by mirroring legitimate transactions and only paying the accounts with his employer’s funds. The case was investigated by the Idaho Falls Police Department and the United States Secret Service.

Wisconsin Woman Shot By Police In Domestic Dispute Suspected Of Embezzling More Than $100K

From the Leader-Telegram on 11/24/2014:

The woman shot to death by a Boyceville police officer on a domestic disturbance call earlier this month was under investigation for allegedly embezzling more than $100,000 from her employer.

Shonda E. Mikelson, 33, 469 Main St., died after police say she displayed a rifle and a replica handgun to an officer.
“Sadly, we’ll never know what she was thinking or what transpired,” Menomonie police Chief Eric Atkinson said of the shooting.

At the time of her death, Menomonie police were investigating allegations that Mikelson racked up bills on company credit cards at her former employer, DKS Construction, 2520 Wilson St., in Menomonie, where she was an office manager. She also was accused of cashing a check made out to company owner Dale Schmitz and paid herself overtime she did not work, according to police records.
 

“We were at the point of the investigation we felt ready to go to the district attorney’s office and seek charges,” Atkinson said.
 

Atkinson said there was another person of interest in the investigation, but there was insufficient evidence to charge that person.
 

The investigation records were made public after Dunn County District Attorney Andrea Nodolf determined there was insufficient evidence to sustain charges after Mikelson’s death.
 

Police records indicated the charges Schmitz reported as fraudulent included multiple purchases from online retailer Amazon, restaurants, and other personal purchases totaling $117,063. One charge was for a pickup truck bed cover and bed rails for the type of pickup owned by her boyfriend, Timothy Fern, according to police reports.

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Read the whole story here.

Former Receptionist For Medical Practice In New Jersey Allegedly Embezzled $446K

From the Associated Press on 10/20/2014:

Federal prosecutors say a woman has admitted embezzling more than $446,000 from the northern New Jersey medical practice where she formerly worked as a receptionist.

They also say 53-year-old Gwendolyn Muller used fraudulent credit cards to obtain more than $200,000 in goods and services and evaded taxes on that illegal income.

Muller, who formerly lived in Kearny, pleaded guilty Monday to embezzlement, credit card fraud and tax evasion charges. She faces up to 25 years in prison when she's sentenced Feb. 19 and will forfeit $556,000 to the United States government.

From 2007 through 2011, prosecutors say Muller used her position to take, conceal and cash more than $446,000 in checks paid by insurance companies to the medical practice for services to patients.

Minnesota Woman Sentenced For Embezzling $100K From Iowa Company

Barbara Ann Paulson, 40, aka, Barbara Ann Krauth, of Waseca, Minnesota, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for embezzling more than $100,000 from an unnamed business based in Northwood, Iowa.  Paulson wrote fraudulent checks for her own benefit over a period of nearly 2 years, from January 2005 until October 2006.  She plead guilty in January to one count of making and passing a counterfeit check with the intent to deceive, one count of using a fraudulently obtained credit card and one count of aggravated identity theft.  Paulson was also ordered to pay $157,000 in restitution.

Read the story here.

Read the DOJ announcement here.

Missouri Woman Pleads Guilty To $650K Embezzlement Scheme

Marcia Jackson, 51, of Florissant, Missouri, pleaded guilty to charges admitting she embezzled more than $650,000 from the Show-Me Institute, a local think-tank, where she had been employed as an office manager. Specifically, Jackson pleaded guilty to one count of theft greater than $25,000 and 24 counts of fraudulently using a credit device. Authorities alleged that over a period of three years, from November 2006 to December 2009, Jackson misappropriated the funds from the institute and used the monies to pay for home repairs, spa treatments, hair replacement treatments, jewelry and numerous vacations. According to media reports, Jackson was fired for unprofessional conduct and insubordination and an audit ensued, which revealed the thefts. She was subsequently charged with the embezzlement in July 2010.

Read the story here, here and here.

Update (1/21/11): Jackson was sentenced to 7 years in prison.

Nevada Man Gets Probation In $233K Embezzlement Case

Jason Robert Taylor, 39, of Carson City, Nevada, was sentenced to a suspended prison term but must also serve five years probation for embezzling $233,057 from Briggs Electric, where he had been employed as company controller. Authorities had alleged that over a period of nearly four years, from January 2005 through December 2008, Taylor misappropriated company funds to make car payments, student loan payments and home improvements, and other unapproved purchases for the benefit of himself and his friends. Reports suggest that Taylor may also have stolen the money to fund his struggling restaurant, Deli Francesco. Taylor, who was originally arrested last March, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft and one count of fraudulent use of a credit card.

Read the story here and here.