Pennsylvania Woman Sentenced For Embezzling $419K; Had Prior History Of Embezzlement

From The Morning Call on 1/30/2015:

Calling her a "predator," U.S. District Judge Edward G. Smith on Friday sentenced an Easton woman to six years in federal prison for embezzling more than $400,000 from a Whitehall Township repo agency where she worked.

Felicia Straub, 42, misused her company credit card, using company accounts to pay her personal bills, including Victoria's Secret and Coach purchases, after gaining the trust of the late owner of the family business, Michael Yaroma.

 

"There is a fundamental flaw in your character," Smith told Straub during the 4 1/2-hour sentencing in federal court in Easton. "To betray someone on a scale of this nature is truly disturbing."

Straub was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $419,331 to Joanne Yaroma, the owner's 74-year-old widow, $39,959 to PNC Bank and $136,364 to the Internal Revenue Service.

In September, Straub pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of tax evasion.

At the sentencing, family members said Joanne Yaroma had come to every court hearing because she wanted the court to know that Straub's crimes weren't against some faceless corporation but a family business.

The son of a coal miner and waitress from Shenandoah, Michael Yaroma raised a family of five in Whitehall and, as he began putting them through college, launched the repo agency, Financial Adjusters Inc. He eventually paid himself a salary, which averaged $12 an hour, in hopes that the business would one day be his retirement, family members testified.

He did not use computers — not even for email — and gave Straub, who was hired in 2003, sole access to accounting software for the business. The company recovers cars and other merchandise from people who stop making loan payments.

 

It wasn't until late 2010 that Yaroma began to suspect that someone was stealing from the company.
In November 2010, Yaroma discovered that the IRS had placed a lien on the company's funds because it had fallen behind on its Social Security and Medicare contributions and its own federal income tax.

Straub initially admitted stealing from the company after its offices on MacArthur Road burned in a December 2010 fire that investigators flagged as suspicious.

Yaroma's daughter, a certified public accountant who works for the FBI, helped her father untangle the extent of the crime.

In her tearful testimony before the judge, Straub read an email she had sent Yaroma, which was printed out for him to read. She said there were no words to describe her regret. She said there was something wrong with her, and it felt like "something living in my brain." She said she loved him and is ashamed.

"I feel like a monster," she said, reading from the email in court.
Yaroma died in December 2011.

Family members say Yaroma was deeply hurt by Straub's betrayal and felt stupid for not uncovering the deception earlier.

A month before her husband died, Joanne Yaroma said, he told her he didn't want revenge, only justice.

"As I write this," Joanne Yaroma said, reading from a statement, "I wish I could be so kind … I don't think Felicia is sorry for anything she did. I just think she is sorry she got caught."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kishan Nair said Straub's acknowledgment of responsibility is "marginal acceptance."

He said she has since "shockingly worked her way into a position of trust" with a "competitor" of Yaroma's business — whose owners testified Friday on Straub's behalf — and noted that she had stolen money from the business she worked for before Yaroma.

In 1999, Straub, then known as Felicia Anne Frey, was placed under house arrest after pleading guilty in Lehigh County for stealing $46,000 from a Papa John's Pizza franchise in South Whitehall Township where she worked as a bookkeeper.

In federal court, Straub had 13 people testify in her defense. The mother of three, they described her as a loving parent whose absence would upend the family. They praised her for her work as a team parent to her daughter's tournament volleyball team and for helping friends who were going through recovery.

Her primary care physicians said she has anxiety and depression and had childhood issues, including living in foster homes and homelessness.

The Yaroma family has since sold the repo business.

California Woman Sentenced For Embezzling $180K; Was Previously Convicted On Another Major Embezzlement

From the Press-Enterprise on 1/30/2015:

A Riverside woman has been sentenced to eight years in prison after she pleaded guilty to grand theft charges in embezzling more than $180,000 from her employer, after serving state prison time for a previous conviction for a six-figure theft from a prior employer.

Amber Marie Peralta, 33, changed her plea at a Jan. 21 court hearing and was sentenced by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Helios J. Hernandez, according to court records.

Peralta pleaded guilty in 2007 to identity theft and admitted to fraud and embezzlement in the theft of more than $260,000 from her former employer. She was sentenced to 40 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution, according to court records.

The new investigation began after her former employer, Bob Kelsoe, head of Kelsoe & Associates, a Corona-based land surveying company, emailed Peralta’s most recent employer, John Leuer of LOR Geotechnical Group Inc. in Riverside.

Kelsoe said last year that he had tried for years without success to collect restitution from Peralta from the earlier case by having her wages at the Riverside company garnished.

But Peralta was office manager at LOR Geotechnical and intercepted the emails, according to Kelsoe. He obtained an email to contact Leuer directly.

Riverside police investigators learned that general ledger entries noted payments to companies, but Peralta wrote checks to herself instead, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Bank surveillance footage linked Peralta to the checks.

In the earlier case, Peralta’s husband, Joseph Sosteno Peralta, pleaded guilty to one count of identity theft and was sentenced to six months in a work release program, according to court records. He was not linked to the 2014 case.

“I wish no one to have to endure this horrible life of being locked up with nothing but remorse recurring and counting the ways I should have and could have avoided where I am at today,” Amber Peralta wrote in asking a judge to shorten her sentence. The inmate firefighter regretted her husband winding up with a felony conviction “although he had nothing to do with” the crimes.

As a first-time mother with an infant son, she wrote her experience “has taught me money isn’t everything, being with my son and raising him, teaching him is all that matters.”

The judge denied Peralta’s request. In the new case, the judge recommended Peralta be given a fire camp assignment again.

Former Tribal Finance Manager In Montana Sentenced For Embezzling $156K From Tribal Clinic; Had Prior Fraud Conviction

From the Seattle Post Intelligencer on 1/29/2015:

The former finance manager of a Chippewa Cree tribal clinic in Box Elder has been convicted of embezzling more than $156,000 in federal money provided to the tribe to operate the clinic.

A federal jury convicted Theodora Ann Morsette, 60, on three theft charges Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris scheduled sentencing for April 20.

Prosecutors presented evidence that Morsette obtained $156,493 in unauthorized overtime, double pay and other supplemental pay above her $82,000 annual salary from 2010 to 2013. She had worked at the clinic since 1994, when she was convicted and sentenced to three years on probation for embezzling nearly $6,500 while she worked for the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.

 

Morsette testified that she believed she was entitled to the extra payments from the clinic because she worked hard and because her supervisor approved the payments.

 

Her supervisor, clinic CEO Fawn Tadios, was convicted of using $15,000 in federal money meant for the tribe to visit her husband at a federal prison in South Dakota in 2011. Former Chippewa Cree Chairman Jake Parker Jr. was serving an 11-month sentence after being convicted of putting $59,000 in personal charges on a tribal credit card.

 

Tadios was sentenced to a year in prison, but she is free pending an appeal

Read the story here.

$320K Embezzlement Investigated At College of DuPage In Illinois; Alleged Perp Had Prior History Of Fraud

From the College of DuPage on 1/15/15:

In December of 2013, College of DuPage officials uncovered a possible case of fraud by an employee of WDCB, the College’s radio station. The College immediately reported the matter to law enforcement officials, and the College has been cooperating fully during the investigation.

Contrary to statements made in a Jan. 15 article in the Chicago Tribune, COD has found no evidence that officials from Elmhurst College contacted College of DuPage regarding a 2011 arrest of a former radio station employee, John Valenta. The COD Police Department continues to investigate this claim.

COD Police Chief Joe Mullin said, “Our investigation has so far showed that we have no record of any communication from Elmhurst Campus Security regarding this former employee, nor have we recollection of anyone contacting us.”

COD President Robert L. Breuder said, “Predicated on our police department’s investigation, we have found no evidence that we received any communication on this matter from Elmhurst College. However, I have recommended to the COD Board of Trustees Chair that we hire an independent investigator to examine all facets of the communication process concerning this claim.”

“The Board will engage an outside entity for the limited purpose of reporting to the Board any findings stemming from the alleged communication of the 2011 arrest of a former employee. The College has and will continue to cooperate with the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office, and we will respect, and not interfere with, their investigation,” said COD Board Chair Erin Birt.

....

Read the story here.

Suspect In $209K Embezzlement In Connecticut Has Prior Conviction For Fraud

From The Hour on 12/11/2014:

A Stratford woman, accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Norwalk plastic surgeon, was previously convicted of embezzlement in California, according to statements made during her arraignment Thursday at Norwalk Superior Court.

Gloria Lavae Tamayo, 43, of Stratford, served 30 days in jail and was also placed on probation after being convicted in 1997 of embezzlement. She was arraigned Thursday on new allegations of first-degree larceny, third-degree forgery and identity theft. Judge William Wenzel kept Tamayo’s $239,000 cash only bond in place and transfered her case to the Part A docket at Stamford Superior Court, where high class felony cases are adjudicated. Wenzel set the bond without prejudice, so that it can be reargued when Tamayo appears in Stamford court Dec. 19.

The victim in the case, Dr. Laurence Kirwan, is a plastic surgeon who has offices in Norwalk, New York City and London. He has performed surgical work on British television celebrities. He has also performed extensive charity work for Americares and UNICEF.

The investigation that led to Tamayo’s arrest began in August when Kirwin noticed irregularities in his office’s bookkeeping, police said. The bookkeeping irregularities came to the attention of Kirwan when the doctor combed through his finances in order to produce an accurate financial affidavit in divorce court, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Tamayo was terminated with cause on Aug. 27, court documents show. She had taken numerous work days off due to mental health issues, and Kirwan believed her embezzlement led to the issues, court documents show.

“She was always complaining that the business, Dr. K. Services P.C., had no money,” Kirwan wrote in a statement to police. “I was delinquent with my business mortgage and discovered after she was terminated that all my credit card accounts were maxed out with no available credit and that our vendor accounts were all overdue and frozen. I think that a lot of her anxiety was based on the fact that she could no longer hide her theft of corporate funds, because we had run out of working capital.”

Detective William Maloney, a certified fraud investigator, assumed the investigation and pored through the financial bookkeeping at Kirwan’s East Avenue office in Norwalk.

Maloney learned that Tamayo, the office’s bookkeeper, had been writing unauthorized checks to herself since 2010 and disguising the unauthorized checks as payments to vendors, police said. Through this method, Tamayo embezzled at least $209,075, according to police.
Tamayo was arrested at her Stratford home on Wednesday.

Read the whole story here.

Former Tribal Official inMaine Sentenced to18 Months for Embezzlement; Previously Embezzled $2.7 Million From S. Dakota Tribal College

From the Associated Press on 10/29/2014:

The former finance director for Maine's Passamaquoddy (pass-uh-muh-KWAH'-dee) Tribe has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for embezzling about $20,000 from the tribe.

Charles Fourcloud was also sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Bangor to three years of probation and ordered to pay full restitution.

The 59-year-old Fourcloud had pleaded guilty in June.

Authorities say he submitted false expense claims to steal the money.

Fourcloud was fired as finance director of the Passamaquoddy's Pleasant Point reservation government in September 2013 for lying about his identity.

Authorities say Fourcloud's real name is Arlynn Knudsen, and he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in 1998 after pleading guilty to his role in the embezzlement of nearly $2.7 million from Oglala Lakota College in South Dakota.

Former Pastor Awaits Sentencing For Embezzling Nearly $100K From California Church; Reportedly Had Prior Murder Conviction

From the Lake County Record-Bee on 1/21/14:

An ex-pastor who pleaded no contest to stealing money from a Clearlake church had his sentence hearing continued Tuesday afternoon at the Lake County Courthouse.

Bruce Stark, 63, will have to wait for his sentence for roughly a month after Judge Andrew S. Blum granted the defense and the court time to study evidence that could affect Stark's sentence. Stark faces up to three years in state prison, Deputy District Attorney Sharon Lerman-Hubert said.

...

Stark was arrested after allegations that that he stole tens of thousands of dollars in cash and property from the Hilltop Apostolic Church while he was a pastor from 2002 to 2007. His wife Shanell Stark, who pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge related to the embezzlement and was sentenced to serve probation time, reportedly held a secretarial position at the time of the alleged theft.

Read the whole story here.

Colorado Man Accused Of Embezzling More Than $1 Million From Water Utility; Had Prior Convictions For Fraud and Embezzlement

From the McCook Daily Gazette on 1/15/14:

Stunned residents of the McCook area couldn't believe it Monday when word started spreading on the Internet that Terry Malcom has been accused of stealing more than $1 million over the course of a decade from the Cascade Metro and Arabian Acres Metro water districts in Teller County, Colorado.

The report brought shudders and head-shaking because Terry Malcom is the man who bilked Southwest Nebraska residents out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in his years as an attorney in McCook.

As a result of his misdeeds back then, Malcom was sentenced in March of 1998 to serve two to six years in prison for theft by deception and one to three years for second degree forgery. In passing sentence, District Judge John Murphy of North Platte said, "Basically, what it comes down to is how bad has the fabric of society been torn ..."

...

Read the whole article here.

Hat tip: FraudTalk reader Joe.

Former Bookkeeper At Upstate New York Charter School Sentenced For Embezzling More Than $200K

From the Troy Record on 6/5/13:

A bookkeeper at an Albany charter school will spend at least five years behind bars for embezzlement after his sentencing Tuesday.

Ronald Racela, 49, received a sentence of 5 to 10 years behind bars for stealing more than $200,000 from the Brighter Choice Charter School where he worked as chief financial officer.

Racela’s sentencing Tuesday came after he pleaded guilty in March to one count of grand larceny.
...

Between September 2011 and December 2012, Wise’s investigation revealed that Racela made a series of improper payroll entries to himself for a total of $208,837.45.

The inquiry also revealed that Racela had been on felony probation for a separate financial crime at the time he committed the fraud. Officials at Brighter Choice were unaware of his criminal background when he was hired as CFO.

Racela must also pay $174,400.08 in restitution.
...

Former CFO Of New York Non-Profit Pleads Guilty In $161K Embezzlement; Has A Criminal History

From The Record on 6/5/13:

...

Dennis Bassat, the former chief financial officer of 820 River St. Inc., stood in Rensselaer County Court beside his attorney and admitted to stealing $161, 384 from the non-profit over a five-year period beginning back in 2006.

As CFO, Bassat funneled money into a bank account in his name by cashing paychecks written to a fictitious employee, along with reimbursement checks for fraudulent expenses.
...

A one-time client of the agency with an extensive criminal history, Bassat remains free on bail until June 10, when he must surrender at the county jail.
...

Wisconsin Man Suspected In $120K Embezzlement Scheme: Has Prior Criminal Arrest History

From the Menomonee Falls Patch on 6/3/13:

...

Menomonee Falls police are investigating an extensive embezzlement case involving a former employee of Novum Structures LLC in Falls.

Police obtained a search warrant to obtain copies of information and activity from a bank account held by Gerard Del Giudice. Del Giudice is suspected of embezzling at least $120,615 from Novum Structures, which is an architectural and construction company...

According to an affidavit filed with the Waukesha County Circuit Court:

Del Giudice allegedly set up shell companies while employed at Novum, and was charging Novum subcontractors for insurance and consultant fees. Between January 2012 and March 2013, Del Giudice bilked over $120,000 from the company through several transactions with through false companies.

This isn't the first tango for Del Giudice. He has also been arrested in Florida, Illinois, and Michigan for fraud, theft by deception, and embezzlement.

Del Giudice, who created a false identity by the name Jerry Guidice, fabricated the companies USA Assurety Corporation and Subsure Construction Services. He then billed Novum for services that were never provided. A Novum employee provided police a checking statement from Giudice's office, which shows the address of the US Assurety Corporation account matching Giudice's home address.

Police believe Giudice has been transferring funds from his shell companies into his personal account, and filed for a warrant to obtain proof of that. Former charges have not been filed at this point.


Update (1/6/2015) from WTAQ:

A former business executive in suburban Milwaukee is due in court next Monday, for allegedly stealing over $168,000 from his employer.

55-year-old Jerry Guidice, who now lives in Windermere Florida, is charged with six felony counts in Waukesha County -- 3 charges of embezzlement, 2 counts of false writings, and one charge of identity theft.

According to prosecutors, Guidice was hired at the start of 2012 to administer contracts for Novum Structures of Menomonee Falls. Investigators said he later created a fake construction company to which he made numerous payments from Novum Structures -- and later put the money in his own accounts.

Authorities said Guidice used the money to buy an airplane and a horse, among other things.
Officials said he was fired about 15 months after he was hired, and the firm then notified Menomonee Falls Police. Charges were not filed until Monday.

Major Embezzlement Cases: July 8 - 15

Jay S. Fischer, 52, of Wausau, Wisconsin, has been charged with embezzling more than $1 million from his mortgage clients at Valley Title, which he owned.  According to authorities, Fischer kept client funds intended to pay off mortgages for his own benefit.  Fischer has been charged with 25 felony counts, including racketeering, embezzlement and various tax crimes.  Note: Fischer is also facing unrelated child molestation and sexual assault charges.

Jennifer Hughes-Boyles, 40, of Topeka, Kansas, has been ordered to pay $712,145 in restitution to Heritage Bank, for which she had been employed as a vice president.  Hughes-Boyles pleaded guilty to bank fraud in connection with her misappropriation of the funds from the bank through a fraudulent loan scheme.

Update (9/10/12): Hughes-Boyles was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

An investigation into the possible embezzlement of $109,454 from the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Edmond, Oklahoma.  A suspect has not yet been publicly named.  Developing...

Update (12/18/12): Bill Dwight Coyle, 62, of Edmond, Oklahoma, and the former business manager for the church, has been charged with eight felony counts in connection with the embezzlement.

Alice M. Foss, 50, of Springfield, Illinois, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges she embezzled at least $400,000 from Don Moss and Associates, a local consulting and lobbying firm, where she had been employed as CFO.  Foss allegedly misappropriated the funds over a 13 year period, from 1997 until 2010, by giving herself unauthorized bonuses and expense reimbursements. 

Iain Anderson, a resident of Ventura County, California has been accused in a civil suit of embezzling at least $600,000 from AND Syndicated Productions, the producer of such syndicated programs as The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and other TV shows.  Anderson is described in the suit as the "Lead Production Accountant" for several of the company's programs. The suit alleges that Anderson artificially inflated production costs and other expenses as well as requested petty cash for bogus expenses, comingling production funds with his personal bank accounts and recording bogus and false payroll transactions, plus other acts of conversion.  Read the complaint here.   Developing...

Dana Louise Sullivan, 46, of Park Township, Michigan, has been charged with embezzling at least $150,000 from Summit Properties, a local real estate firm where she had been employed.  Sullivan's thefts, which spanned at least 9 years, total as much as $500,000, according to company owner Tom Speet.  Sullivan reportedly has a prior criminal arrest for embezzlement and larceny from a financial institution in 2002.  She reached a plea agreement in that case, dropping the embezzlement charge.

Update (11/5/12): Sullivan, now 47, was sentenced to a minimum of 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $422,541 in restitution.

Kathleen Kau, of Honolulu, Hawaii, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for embezzling more than $360,000 from Transamerica Life Insurance Co. where she had been employed as an insurance agent.  According to authorities, Kau'd theft began in March 1998 and continued through June 2003, spanning more than 5 years.  Kau reportedly set up a P.O. Box and told clients that their homes were destroyed, redirecting mail to the new address.  Kau kept the insurance payments for herself. 

Andrea Lynn Hammond, 41, of Casper, Wyoming, has been arrested on felony theft charges for allegedly embezzling "a significant amount of funds" from the Family Crisis Services, Inc. for which she had served as Executive Director.  We believe that a "significant amount of funds" suggests more than $100,000.  Developing...

Update (1/14/13): Hammond pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of embezzlement of more than $20,000.  She reportedly used the non-profit's credit cards for personal use and gave herself significant unauthorized salary increases over a 3 year period.  The total amount understood to have been stolen is approximately $75,000.
Update (4/9/13): Hammond was sentenced to 4 years in prison.

Keri M. Geschke, 38, of DeForest, Wisconsin, has pleaded no contest to charges she embezzled some $123,000 from Sound Billing, where she had been employed as an accountant.  According to authorities, the thefts were discovered by Geschke's successor at the company, who found unusual deposits from the company's account to Geschke's bank account.  After the allegations surfaced in 2010, Geschke disappeared.  Read the story and see her image here.

Update (12/3/12): Geschke, now 39, has been sentenced to 4 months in prison and ordered to pay full restitution.

Elizabeth Walsh, 45, of Amherst, Massachusetts, has been charged with embezzling some $112,000 from the Amherst Pelham Education Association, for which she had served as treasurer.  The Association operates as the teachers union for the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District.  Developing...

Update (12/20/12): Walsh, now 46, pleaded guilty to felony larceny charges and was ordered to pay restitution of $116,000.  According to media accounts, Walsh wrote checks to herself over a 6 year period from 2006 to 2012.  She blamed personal financial troubles for her actions and was spared any jail time.

Taira Desart, 43, of Kalispell, Montana, has pleaded not guilty to charges she embezzled some $154,000 from Jesco Marine and Power Sports where she had served as bookkeeper for 17 years.  She has been charged with felony embezzlement and faces up to 10 years in prison.  The thefts allegedly spanned a period of about 6 and a half years.

Michael Wion, 40, of Piqua, Ohio and his assistant,Tess Cremeens, 43, of Troy, Ohio, have been charged with embezzling at least $675,000 from Repacorp where Wion was employed as Controller.  The misappropriation spanned approximately two years, according to authorities.

Update (4/24/13): Wion, 42, now of Venice, Forida, has pleaded not guilty to charges including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, conspiracy to engage in corrupt activity, aggravated theft and a dozen counts of telecommunications fraud in connection with this embezzlement.  The total thefts are now reported to be nearly $800,000.

Former Payroll Manager In Minnesota Charged With Embezzling $1.1 Million From Land O’ Lakes

Cynthia Carol Jacobsen, age 58, of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, has been charged with embezzling more than $1.1 million from Land O' Lakes, Inc. where she had been employed as a payroll manager.  According to authorities, over a period of about 4 years, from 2008 through May 2012, Jacobsen fraudulently used her daughter's name in the vendor system to make payments from company coffers for her own benefit.  Jacobsen reportedly has a prior criminal conviction for theft.  She has been charged in a one count Information with mail fraud. 

Read the story here and here.

Update (7/13/12): Jacobsen pleaded guilty to mail fraud.  She faces up to 51 months in prison.

Update (11/29/12): Jacobsen was sentenced to 26 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.04 million in restitution.

North Carolina Woman Indicted For Embezzling More Than $100K; Faces Additional Charges For Allegedly Embezzling From Another Company

Susan Davenport, 42, of Aulander, North Carolina, already facing indictment she embezzled more than $100,000 from her prior unnamed employer, is facing new charges she embezzled $2,700 from her current employer, RIMTYME Custom Wheels, where she has been employed as office manager.

Developing...

Read the story here and here.

Florida Man Sentenced For Embezzling More Than $1.6 Million From Construction Company

Casey Loveall 2003 mugshot

Casey Jay Loveall, 52, of Casselberry, Florida, has been sentenced to 44 months in prison for embezzling $1,611,754.51 from the Hulke Construction Company, LLC where he had been employed as company controller.  According to authorities, over a period of more than 3 years, from 2007 through 2010, Loveall siphoned funds from the company by sending electronic payments intended for vendors and subcontractors to his own accounts.  Loveall, who pleaded guilty to felony wire fraud, has also been ordered to pay full restitution.  Research suggests Loveall has a prior criminal record for fraud.

Read the story here and here.

Michigan Grocery Manager Headed To Trial For Allegedly Embezzling More Than $200K

Ted Gould, believed to be in his early to mid-50s, of Portage, Michigan will be heading to trial for allegedly embezzling more than $200,000 from the Lakeshore Fresh Market where he had been employed as manager.  Over a 14 month period, Gould allegedly siphoned cash receipts from the grocery store to help support a gambling problem.  Meanwhile, the grocery store proceeded to bounce checks to vendors and otherwise fail to meet its financial obligations, causing severe problems.  According to media reports, Gould was previously accused of embezzling at least $50,000 from the Hardings market in Plainwell, Michigan in the mid to late 1990s. 

Read the story here and here.

Washington State Man Accused Of Embezzling More Than $1 Million From County

Dennis M. Huston, 65, of Pasco, Washington, has been accused of embezzling more than $1 million from Franklin County where he serves as director of accounting and administration.  According to authorities, Huston's embezzlement scheme spanned at least 10 years.  He has been charged with first-degree theft, money laundering and possessing cocaine and has been placed on administrative leave.  Interestingly, Huston has a criminal past and spent four years in prison for employing a similar scheme in the mid-1980s at the Bureau of Reclamation in Billings Montana.  In this case, like the Montana case, Huston reportedly created a dummy company through which fraudulent billings could be run. He reportedly stole $141,000 in the Montana case.

Developing...

Read the story here, here and here.

Hat tip: FraudTalk reader Joe.

Update (2/9/12): Huston has reportedly been fired from his position as director of accounting and administration for Franklin County.

Update (2/29/12): Huston was reportedly investigated by the FBI in 2009 based upon an anonymous letter accusing him of fraud.  The investigation apparently did not result in any prosecution.  Read the story here.

Update (3/22/12): Franklin County is seeking more than $2.8 million in restitution from Huston which is what it now claims was embezzled by the former county manager.  Huston allegedly used a vendor scheme to submit fraudulent invoices to be paid by the county.

Woman Charged With Embezzling $1 Million From Archdiocese of New York

Anita Collins, 67, of the Bronx, New York, has been charged with embezzling more than $1 million from the Catholic Archdiocese of New York, where she had been employed as an accounts payable bookkeeper within its Department of Education Finance Office.  According to authorities, over a 7 year period, Collins issued phony invoices and wrote at least 468 unauthorized checks from the Archdiocese's educational fund to "KB Collins" (initials for her son), ultimately for her own benefit.  According to the prosecutor, Collins spent the stolen money on “a lifestyle that was not extravagant but was far beyond her lawful means."  At least some of the stolen money was used to purchase expensive dolls adn other items.  Reportedly, Collins previously pleaded guilty to criminal charges in fraud schemes at other New York employers in 1986 and 1999.  She has reportedly confessed to the thefts.

Read the story here and here.

Update (3/1/12): Collins has plead not guilty to the charges.

Update (8/17/12): Collins has reached a plea agreement to plea guilty and face a sentence of 4 years in prison.

Oklahoma Woman Charged With Embezzling More Than $200K

Pam Matthews

Pamela Gibson Matthews, 51, of Lone Grove, Oklahoma, has been charged with embezzling more than $200,000 from Day Concrete & Block Co. where she had been employed.  According to authorities, Matthews admitted to taking the funds for her own use and apologized when she was confronted by her employer. 

Developing...

Read and view the story here.

Update (5/3/12): Matthews has entered into a plea agreement and was sentenced to 7 years in prison.   She was also ordered to pay restitution of  $155,000.  Matthews is reported to be the wife of Lone Grove Councilman Jeff Matthews.   According to media reports, Matthews previously pleaded guilty in 2003 to four charges of embezzlement for misappropriating $127,000 from Arbuckle Wilderness and received a probation sentence, plus restitution.

California Woman Accused Of Embezzling $470K From Bookkeeping Clients

Paige Jones Hibbits, 69, recently of Camarillo, California, has been charged with embezzling at least $470,000 from several bookkeeping clients of her business, Jones Hibbits, LLC, including Scarborough Farms Inc. of Oxnard, California.  According to authorities, Hibbits has used a variety of aliases, including Pearl Hibbits, Pearl Klenoski, Pearl Jones, Paige Jones, and Pearl McClelland.  Prosecutors allege that Hibbits executed more than 50 fraudulent transactions, including fraudulent checks and electronic funds transfers for her own benefit over a 2 year period.  Specifically, Hibbits has been charged with felony counts including forgery, money laundering, grand theft, computer fraud and aggravated white collar crime.  Media reports indicate that Hibbits has previous a felony conviction in 2004 for embezzlement and forgery.  She was also arrested in 1990 for assault with a deadly weapon and spent time in state prison.  Ironically, Hibbits was named the Camarillo Chamber of Commerce's Woman of the Year in 2010.

Read the story here.