Northern California Woman Charged With Embezzling $210K From Interior Design Firm

Sanaz Banihashemi, 30, of Novato, California, has been charged with embezzling about $210,000 from Kaleidoscope Designs Inc., a local interior design firm where she had been employed as a bookkeeper and office manager.  According to authorities, over a period of nearly 3 years, beginning in October 2007, Banihashemi paid herself extra paychecks by manipulating the company's payroll system.  She has been charged with embezzlement, forgery and fraud. 

Read the story here.

Wisconsin Man Sentenced For Embezzling Nearly $200K From Local Parks & Rec Dept.

James D. Ash, 47, of Waupaca, Wisconsin, was sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling $150,772.87 from the Waupaca Parks and Recreation Department where he had been employed as director.  According to authorities, over a period of about 5 years, from 2006 through 2010, Ash wrote 167 checks totaling $150,772.87 in his wife's name drawn from the "Waupaca Recreation Participation Account" which he used for his own purposes.  Ash was also accused of fraudulent reimbursements totaling nearly $41,000 of which less than $1,000 was actually spent for the department.  Ash, who plead no contest to the charges in April, had been a 20 year employee of the department until May 2010 when he was terminated.

Read the story here, here and here.

Maine Woman Sentenced For Embezzling $750K From Bank

Christina Torres-York, 40, of Warren, Maine, has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for embezzling $750,000 from the Camden National Bank where she had been employed.  Torres-York was also charged with embezzling about $60,000 from the Maine Contractors and Builders Alliance, for which she had served as treasurer.  She was ordered to pay restitution of of $595,308 to Camden National Bank and $29,705 to the Maine Contractors and Builders Alliance.  According to prosecutors, over a period of at least 2 years, from 2007 until 2009, Torres-York executed a series of unauthorized transactions, including withdrawals from customer accounts and lines of credit for her own purposes.  Specifically, she is reported to have made numerous withdrawals from five bank customers' lines of credit totalling $749,402.23.  In January 2011, Torres-York, formerly a 20 year employee of the bank, plead guilty to one count of embezzlement and misapplication of funds.


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Kansas Woman Charged With Embezzling $100K From Court

Fabiola E. Cruz, 35, of Shawnee, Kansas, has been charged with embezzling at least $100,000 from the Merriam Municipal Court where she had been employed as the lead clerk.  According to authorities, over a period of about 2 years, from 2008 to 2010, Cruz siphoned monies from the court from cash received from fines or levies. She has been charged with one count of theft of more than $100,000 and four counts of a computer crime.  The thefts were discovered after the court did an audit of its cash management proceedures.  Investigators are still looking into the matter and it is reported possible that the loss could be greater.

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Utah Man Pleads Guilty To Embezzling Nearly $1 Million From Morgan County

Garth B. Day, 41, of Elwood, Utah, has plead guilty to charges he embezzled nearly $1 million from Morgan County where he had served as Council Administrator.  According to prosecutors, Day transferred county funds to accounts he controlled over a period of more than two years, from June 2008 to August 4, 2010.  Day has reportedly paid some of the money back, but still owes more than $416,000 in restitution.

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Update (10/26/11): Day, now 42, has been sentenced to 48 months in prison and ordered to pay $416,222 in restitution.

California Woman Charged With Embezzling $185K From Concrete Company

Terri Alexander, 49, of Bakersfield, California, has been arrested and charged with embezzling more than $185,000 from Terry Bedford Concrete Construction Inc., where she had been employed.  According to authorities, Alexander, who was a trusted 20 year veteran of the firm, had been embezzling from the company for a two year period.  She has been charged with obtaining money by false pretenses, grand theft (embezzlement), using a fictitious name on a financial statement and personate to get money and or property.

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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. 

Former Citigroup Exec Charged With Embezzling $19.2 Million From Bank

Gary Foster, 35, of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, was arrested yesterday on charges he embezzled about $19.2 million from Citigroup, where he had been employed as a vice president.  According to authorities, over a period of 1 1/2 years, from May 2009 to December 2010, Foster transferred the funds from Citigroup's debt-adjustment and interest-expense accounts to a cash account and then wired the funds to his own personal bank account at JPMorgan Chase.  An internal audit by the bank's treasury department discovered the apparent misappropriation and Citigroup immediately contacted law enforcement officials, according to reports.  Prosecutors dubbed the theft "the ultimate inside job."  Foster has plead not guilty to the bank fraud charges, which carry a 30-year maximum sentence.

Read the story here, here and here.

Update (9/6/11): Foster pleaded guilty today to charges he embezzled what is now believed to be $22 million from Citibank.  Foster's scheme spanned nearly 8 years, beginning in September 2003, according to prosecutors.

Update (6/30/12): Foster was sentenced to 97 months in prison for embezzling what is now understood to be nearly $23 million from Citibank.

Mother & Son Arrested For Embezzling $16 Million From New York City Textile Companies

Judy Del Galdo, 66, of Staten Island, New York and Sayreville, New Jersey and Joseph Del Galdo, 46, now of Buford, Georgia, but formerly of Chester, New Jersey, have been arrested for embezzling about $16 million from two New York City textile businesses owned by the same family, Hi-Fashion Fabrics Inc. and Timeless Treasures Fabrics Inc., where she had been employed as a bookkeeper.  According to prosecutors, Judy Del Galdo siphoned the funds from the companies over a period of 7 years, beginning in 2003, by issuing "hundreds" of checks from the businesses to a dummy company she and her son created, Tea-Rific Beverage Inc.  The mother-son pair converted the funds for their own uses and reportedly lived extraordinary lavish lifestyles off of the ill-gotten gains.  In addition to hundreds of thousands spent on real estate and luxury automobiles, the two spent some of the stolen funds in the following manner, according to media accounts:

* $889,000 in mortgage and related payments on three properties
* $564,000 in credit-card payments
* $500,000 in flights on private jets
* $493,000 in cash withdrawals
* $458,000 in other travel and hotel expenses
* $368,000 in payments toward a million-dollar yacht
* $330,000 in payments for luxury suites and sponsorships at Madison Square Garden and the Meadowlands
* $166,000 in home-theater purchases
* $62,000 in private-school tuition
* $54,000 in Apple and iTunes purchases

Judy Del Galdo had been a 22 year employee of the companies and the thefts were only discovered after she retired in April of last year.

Read the story here and here.

Former Dental Assistant In California Sentenced For Embezzling $203K

Tiffany Lynae Lovell, 31, of Biggs, California, has been sentenced to 3 years in prison for embezzling $203,000 from the dentistry practice of Dr. Michael A. Passaglia in Yuba City where she had been employed as an office manager.  According to authorities, Lovell skimmed monies from the practice over a five year period, from 2005 through 2010.  Lovell reportedly used the ill-gotten gains to pay for personal luxury items, including jewelry and breast augmentation surgery.  Lovell had been an 8 year employee of the practice, where she was a problem employee, according to the dentist.  Lovell even filed a sexual harassment claim against Dr. Passaglia in an effort to pressure him to drop the embezzlement charges, according to media reports.  She blamed abuse as a child by her father and other men later in life, according to the reports.

Read the story here, here, and here.

Former Bookkeeper In Upstate New York Pleads Guilty To Embezzling $427K

Glenda Banko, 46, of Hamburg, New York, pleaded guilty to charges this week that she had embezzled $427,661 from Buffalo Rheumatology where she had been employed as a  billing manager.  Authorities alleged that over a span of about 7 years, from 2004 until April 2011, Banko skimmed cash receipts from patient payments to the medical office.  She reportedly began stealing from her employer of ten years after the State of New York ceased making disability payments to her son.  Banko, who pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree grand larceny, faces up to 15 years in prison upon sentencing which is scheduled for September 15, 2011.

Read the story here, here and here.

Fugitive Boston Mob Boss Nabbed In California After 16 Years On The Lam

James "Whitey Bulger," 82, was captured and arrested last night in Santa Monica, California where he had been living with his long-time girlfriend, Catherine Greig.  Bulger was once one of the world's most wanted men.  The former South Boston mob boss was wanted for his role in at least 19 murders.  The ruthless gangster was last confirmed to be in London in 2002.  Bulger had been on the lam since 1994.

Read the story here and here.

Missouri Woman Admits Embezzling $187K From Police Group Before She Dies Of Cancer

Lucille S. Elson, the former president of the Civilian Personnel Division of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department admitted that she embezzled at least $187,000 from the unit three weeks prior to her passing away from pancreatic cancer.  According to authorities, Elson wrote checks from the divison's accounts to pay for personal expenses over a 15 year period.  Elson reportedly admitted to forging the treasurer's signature and covered up the thefts.  Elson also admitted to using the unit's debit card for her own purposes, according to reports.  Elson was 70 years old when she passed away and was reported to be a big fan of the St. Louis Cardinals major league baseball team - known as "Mama Lucy" to other fans in the stands.

Read the story here.

New Jersey Woman Indicted For Alleged Embezzlement Of More Than $400K From Condo Association

Theresa Tierney, 59, of Oakhurst, New Jersey has been indicted on charges she embezzled more than $400,000 from the Strickland Farms Condominium Association in Freehold where she had served as property manager.  According to prosecutors, Tierney diverted association fees paid by members to an account she opened as sole signatory and then converted the funds to her own use.  Tierney was arrested in April 2011 after the misappropriations came to light when homeowners began receiving notice that they were delinquent in their payments.  Tierney has been indicted on felony charges of second-degree theft and second degree theft by failure to make required disposition of property.

Read the story here.

Former Bookkeeper in California Pleads Guilty To Embezzling $382K From Real Estate Developer

Shalena P. Leggett, 37, of Vacaville, California, pleaded guilty to charges she embezzled more than $382,000 from an unnamed real estate development compnay for which she had been employed as a bookkeeper.  According to authorities, Leggett wired the funds out of her employer's accounts into an account she controlled, over a period of about 1 1/2 years, from March 2008 until October 2009.  Leggett pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on September 7, 2011.

Read the story here and here.

Update (10/4/11): Leggett was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison for embezzling what is now reported to be more than $450,000, from an undisclosed real estate firm. 

Former Accountant In California Sentenced For Embezzling $1.4 Million

Kathy Stamps, 39, of Rancho Cucamonga, California, has been sentenced to 4 years in prison for embezzling $1.4 million from the US Department of Agriculture.  According to authorities, Stamps, who worked as an accountant in the Angeles National Forest office in Arcadia, California, manipulated internal records to receive six tax refund checks over a period of 2 1/2 years, from early 2002 until October 2004, totalling $1,421,390.39.  She reportedly used the ill-gotten gains to pay for personal luxury items and expenses, including her mortgage and plastic surgery.  Stamps, who was originally charged in 2008, was also ordered to pay restitution.

Read the story here, here and here.

Read the DOJ announcement of her indictment here.