Former Head Of New Jersey Non-Profit Indicted In $380K Embezzlement Conspiracy Scheme - Twin Brothers Also Charged

From NJ.com on 2/6/14:

The former executive director of an East Orange-based non-profit developer of low-income housing was arrested today on charges she had embezzled more than $380,000 from the corporation, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement this evening.

Lancie Marchan, 64, who headed the East Orange Revitalization and Development Corporation, used the money for trips, hotel stays, visits to casinos and gifts, among other things, the statement said.  

An indictment unsealed today alleges that Marchan, who was being paid an annual salary of $93,163.50, embezzled the money between 2005 and 2010.  

At the time, EORDC was partnering with a private corporation to build a low-income development, called the Princeton Estates Phase II Project, with partial funding from HUD. 

The indictment also alleges that Marchan’s twin 66-year-old brothers, Arthur Werts, of Chesterfield, Va., and Artemus Werts, of Plainfield – both of whom have experience in the financial and non-profit industries – helped their sister embezzle and launder the funds.

...

Read the whole story here.

 

Kentucky Man Sentenced For Embezzling Nearly $1 Million From Auto Dealership

Gregory Woods, 48, of Louisville, Kentucky, was sentenced today to 8 years in prison for embezzling nearly $1 million from Toyota of Louisville where he had been employed as the dealerships used car manager.  According to authorities, over a five year period, Woods siphoned funds from the dealership to fuel a gambling addiction.  Woods was originally charged with 183 counts of theft by unlawful taking and forgery last August 2010.

Read the story here, here and here.

Pennsylvania Woman Charged With Embezzling $389K From Municipality - Blames Mental Health Issues & Gambling Problem

Nancy J. Brown, 63, of Springfield Township, Pennsylvania, has been charged with embezzling $389,000 from the township where she had served as municipal secretary.  Brown sought treatment for mental health issues and an apparent gambling problem in lieu of a trial.  However, the court rejected the plea.  Brown allegedly wrote more than 800 checks to herself from municipal payroll account coffers over a period of about 8 years, from 2002 until June 2010.  She has been charged with 11 felonies, including one count each of forgery and receiving stolen property, and nine counts of theft by unlawful taking.  Brown was reportedly fired from her municipal position in June 2010 after the financial discrepancies came to light.

Read the story here and here.

Update (7/5/11): Brown pleaded guilty today to nine counts of theft by unlawful taking for embezzling some $389,000 from Springfield Township, where she had served as municipal secretary.  Brown, who was a 19 year veteran employee of the municipality, reportedly spent much of the ill-gotten gains at various casinos.

Update (8/17/11): Brown was sentenced to 6 to 18 years in prison. 

Maine Woman Accused Of Embezzling $166K From Attorney's Group

Bettysue Higgins, 53, of Gardiner, Maine, has been charged with embezzling some $166,000 from the Maine Trial Lawyers Association where she had served as an administrative assistant. According to authorities, Higgins issued at least 220 forged association checks to herself over a period of about 4 years, from 2006 until October 2010. She has been charged with one count of theft by unauthorized taking or transfer and one count of forgery. Higgins is also a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed by the association seeking recovery of the misappropriated funds.

Read the story here, here, here and here.

Update (4/6/11): Higgins apparently lived in the virtual world of YoVille. Read the story here.

Update (12/14/11): Higgins, now 54, pleaded guilty to theft by unauthorized taking or transfer and forgery.  She will face a maximum of 1 year in prison.

Update (1/9/12): Higgins was sentenced to 42 months in prison and must pay $166,700 in restitution.

Former New Jersey Bookkeeper Sentenced For $545K Embezzlement Scheme

Karen Marie Sosa, 44, of Belleville, New Jersey and formerly of Nutley, New Jersey, was sentenced to 7 years in prison for embezzling some $545,000 from Lynnes Nissan where she had been employed as an accounts payable clerk. According to prosecutors, Sosa was keeping for herself receipts intended for the parts and services department of the dealership instead of depositing them into company accounts. The thefts reportedly occurred between 2007 and 2008. Sosa was originally charged with the thefts in September 2009 after an audit revealed the scheme.

Read the story here, here and here.

Pennsylvania Municipal Manager Charged With Embezzling $178K

Ella B. Jones, 58, of Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania has been charged with embezzling more than $178,000 from borough of Braddock, Pennsylvania, where she had served as municipal manager. Authorities charged Jones earlier this week with three counts of forgery and three counts of theft by unlawful taking for allegedly writing some 153 checks to herself over a two year period. She had served as municipal manager for the past 10 years. According to published reports, Jones appears to have spent some of the stolen monies at local area casinos. Jones, who has been suspended from her position, has plead not guilty to the charges.

Read the story here, here and here.

Former Pennsylvania Paralegal Sentenced For Embezzling $100+K From Law Firm; Has Prior History Of Embezzlement

Kathy Foer-Morse, 50, of Spring City, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to 21-84 months in prison for embezzling more than $100,000 from High Swartz, LLP, a local law firm where she had been employed as a paralegal. Prosecutors alleged that Foer-Morse wrote herself 12 unauthorized checks totalling $100,937.32 between 2008 and 2009. At the time of her arrest in May 2009, Foer-Morse was on bail pending sentencing for embezzling some $285,000 from the law firm of Satterlee Stephens Burke & Burke LLP in New York City. She reportedly was also convicted of stealing money from her child's school in New Jersey.

Read the story here, here and here.

Read the D.A.'s announcement of her arrest here.

Former Pennsylvania Fire Co. Treasurer Accused Of Embezzling $117K

Miles K. Hummer, 70, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has been accused by authorities of embezzling nearly $117,000 from the Goldsboro Fire Company No. 1, where he had served as treasurer for nearly two decades. Hummer, who is also the owner of the Goldsboro Marina, recently suffered a stroke, according to reports. He is charged with felony counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received, theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception and receiving stolen property and has yet to be arraigned, due to Hummer's health condition. Authorities suspect Hummer in a second embezzlement matter involving a separate volunteer fire department. Hummer's thefts went undetected for seven years, according to investigators.

Read the story here, here and here.

Update (9/8/10): Hummer is also alleged to have embezzled more than $112,000 from Penbrook Volunteer Fire Department where he was also a member and served as longtime treasurer. Hummer apparently wrote checks to himself from Penbrook coffers to help support his marina business over more than five years.

Update (9/29/11): Hummer has been deemed "mentally unfit" to stand trial for his alleged embezzlements.

Tennessee Man Indicted For Embezzling More Than $1 Million From Kentucky Business

Norman Frank Moseley, 60, of Martin, Tennessee, has been indicted by a Graves County, Kentucky grand jury for allegedly embezzling more than $1 million from Hutson Inc., where he had been employed for the past 13 years. Specifically, Martin was indicted on 44 felony counts, including 31 counts of theft by deception over $500, six counts of theft by unlawful taking over $500, three counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument and two counts of theft by unlawful taking over $10,000. Martin is also charged with receiving stolen property over $500 and theft by deception over $10,0000. Authorities allege that Moseley would edit purchase orders and give the customer a different copy than the one he would turn in to Hutson’s management, pocketing the difference. Moseley also allegedly kept Hutson customer trade in equipment which he then sold himself, keeping the profit.

Read the story here, here and here.

Former Pennsylvania Municipal Finance Worker Arrested For Embezzling More Than $100K

Heather Nicole Nolan, 31, of Altoona, Pennsylvania, was arrested yesterday for allegedly embezzling more than $100,000 from the municipality of Hollidaysburg Borough, where she had been employed in their finance office. A state audit showed that some $103,000 missing from January 2004 and last July. Specifically, Nolan has been charged with six counts each of theft by unlawful taking or disposition, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received and misapplication of entrusted property. Details on how the misappropriation occurred have not been released.


Read the story here, here and here.

Former Georgia Bookkeeper Found Guilty In $650K Embezzlement Scheme

Charlotte Jo Baghose, 67, of Gainesville, Georgia, was found guilty by a jury of embezzling some $650,000 from ZF Industries, where she had been employed as a bookkeeper for many years. The jury found Baghose guilty of 25 felony counts of forgery and one count of theft by taking. According to prosecutors, Baghose misappropriated the funds by issuing some 450 checks to herself from 2003 to 2007.

Read the story here and here.

Read the original indictment here.

CFO In Pennsylvania Is Charged With Embezzling $386K

Robert Joseph Nawn Jr., of Havertown, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged yesterday for allegedly embezzling some $386,000 from Delta-T Group, for which he served as the chief financial officer. According to investigators, Nawn, who had complete access to the company's accounting system and bank account access, used company vendor ID numbers to create fake invoices that were paid by the company and the funds deposited into his own account. In all, Nawn alleged caused 133 fraudulent checks to be issued. Specifically, he was charged with five counts each of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, receiving stolen property, forgery, identity theft, criminal use of communication facility, and unlawful use of computer and other computer crimes.

Read the story here.

New Jersey Woman Charged With Embezzling Nearly $100K

Gina Harle, 52, of Long Beach Township, New Jersey, was arrested yesterday for allegedly embezzling nearly $100,000 from her employer, LBI HotSpring Portable Spas. Harle, who worked as a bookkeeper for the company for about 4 years, was charged with "theft by unlawful taking," according to prosecutors. She quit in September 2007 after questions were raised about accounting irregularities. Harle is reportedly an avid sailing enthusiast and appears to have a business chartering sailboats in the Caribbean.

Read the story here.