Update: Former New York Bookkeeper Formally Indicted On Embezzlement Charges

Dorothy A. Horvath, 51, of Campbell Hall, New York, was indicted today on charges she embezzled some $130,000 from Chambers Tractor Sales in Montgomery, New York, where she had been employed as a bookkeeper. Horvath, who was arrested on February 22nd, was indicted on 38 felony counts, including one count of second-degree grand larceny, 18 counts of third-degree grand larceny and 19 counts of fourth-degree grand larceny. According to the indictment, the thefts took place between September 1, 2006 and October 31, 2008. According to reports, Horvath's primary means of embezzlement was to simply take company cash receipts from the bank deposit bag before depositing it, which was one of her responsibilities.

Read FraudTalk's original post on this story here.

Read the story here.

Oregon Bookkeeper Accused Of Embezzling $200+K From Puppet Company

Jodi Lynn Klemm, 41, of Scappoose, Oregon has been accused of embezzling more than $200,000 from Michael Curry Design, Inc., a world renowned puppetry company, for whom she worked as a bookkeeper. Klemm whose thefts allegedly spanned a six year period, reportedly held the bookkeeper position for the past 8 years. However, specific details of her alleged theft have not yet been released.

Read the story here, here and here.

Update (8/4/10): Klemm, now 42, was sentenced to 32 months in jail for embezzling $209,000 from the well known puppet company, Michael Curry Design, Inc. Klemm plead guilty last week to two counts of aggravated theft and two counts of theft.

Oklahoma Bank Executive Accused In $500K Embezzlement Scheme

Criss Lee McGinty, 51, of Glencoe, Oklahoma, was indicted last week on charges he embezzled $536,995 from a customer's account at the Glencoe State Bank, for whom he had been employed as Executive Vice President. Specifically, he was indicted for embezzlement, misapplication of bank funds, making false statements to FDIC bank examiners and obstructing an FDIC examination. According to prosecutors, McGinty used a variety of means, including executing hand written checks to himself, to transfer funds from the account of Dove Construction, LLC, held at the bank to a personal account in the name of “McGinty House,” which he used to pay for construction of his home and other personal expenses. McGinty has been employed by Glencoe State Bank since 1978.

Read the story here, here and here.

Virginia Woman Pleads Guilty In $151K Embezzlement Case

Faye G. Barksdale, 48, of Chesterfield, Virginia, pleaded guilty last week to charges she embezzled some $151,000 from Drytac Corp., where she had been employed as an accounts payable clerk for nearly a decade. According to prosecutors, Barksdale engaged in a false-invoice and check-forgery scheme that lasted at least 5 years and dated back to 2003. Her scheme was discovered by a co-worker when she left a counterfeit check on a copy machine when she left for vacation last year. Barksdale is to be sentenced July 15 and faces up to 20 years in prison, plus fines and restitution.

Read the story here.

Update: Arkansas Woman Sentenced In $100K Magazine Embezzlement Case

Vicki Renae Maxwell, 44, of Sherwood, Arkansas, was sentenced to 3 months in prison for embezzling some $100,000 from the Oxford American magazine where she had been employed. Maxwell was also ordered to pay full restitution. According to prosecutors, over a five month period Maxwell issued company checks to herself and forged the signature of an account manager. She plead guilty to felony counts of second-degree forgery and theft of property.

Read FraudTalk's original post on this story here.

Read the story here and here.

Another light sentence....

Washington Woman In Mother - Daughter $100K Embezzlement Scheme Sentenced

Juli A. Lynch, 43, of Anacortes, Washington, was sentenced to 3 nine month concurrent jail sentences for an embezzlement conspiracy involving her daughter, Christina Lynch, 24, also of Anacortes, that bilked her employer, Dave’s Anaco TV and Appliance, out of as much as $100,000. Juli Lynch was originally hired as a bookkeeper in November 1999 and then became an office manager in May 2002, overseeing all accounting functions. She convinced the company owner, David Evans, to hire her daughter as a part time office assistant. According to reports, Evans, after becoming alerted to serious financial difficulties with the company, found that Juli Lynch operated a number of schemes to embezzle from the company. These schemes included overpaying herself and her daughter on paychecks, stealing incoming cash, failing to repay advances, writing unauthorized checks for personal purchases and making unauthorized personal charges on a company credit card. The schemes lasted at least 3 years from 2003 and 2005. The two were fired in October 2005. Christina previously pleaded guilty to two counts of felony theft and was sentenced to two months in prison to run concurrently.

Read the story here and here.

California Accountant Arrested For Operating Ponzi Scheme Fraud

Maynard Weldon Moreland, 49, of Livermore, California, was arrested last week for allegedly operating an elaborate Ponzi scheme, defrauding numerous clients out of some $734,000 that was intended for local real estate investments. Moreland is accused of depositing investor funds into his own accounts to finance his own lavish lifestyle. Moreland reportedly promised investors between 8 to 10 percent return on investments. Moreland was arrested on seven counts of grand theft and fiduciary elder abuse since many of his victims were elderly.

Read the story here, here and here.

Update (6/1/10): Moreland was sentenced to 17 years in prison for embezzling $2.66 million from several elderly clients. Moreland, an accountant by training, pleaded no contest in February to 21 counts of grand theft, 12 counts of financial elder abuse and related charges.

Ohio Controller Sought For Allegedly Embezzling $8.7 Million From Bottler

Ohio Authorities announced that James T. Hammes, 47, of Cincinnati, Ohio, is being sought in connection with the alleged embezzlement of $8,711,282.42 from G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers, Inc. of Symmes Township, Ohio with whom he had been employed as financial controller. The 75 count indictment includes 38 counts of wire fraud and 37 counts of money laundering. Prosecutors allege that Hammes created an unauthorized bank account for one of G&J's vendors, C.W. Zumbiel Co., depositing checks intended for the vendor and then transferring the funds to his personal accounts. The scheme lasted over 10 years, from 1998 to February 2009, according to prosecutors. Hammes fled after being initially charged in February and remains at large.

Hammes is a white male, 5’8” tall and weighs 195 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with any information on the current whereabouts of Mr. Hammes is requested to contact the Cincinnati FBI office at 513-421-4310.

Read the story here, here and here.

Read the DOJ announcement here.

Read the indictment here.

Arizona Museum Accountant Charged With Embezzling Nearly $1 Million

Ruth Ellen Sons, 62, of Tucson, Arizona, has been charged with embezzling $973,000 from the Tucson Museum of Art where she had been employed as an accountant since 1990. According to the complaint, Sons allegedly forged the signatures of museum officers, stole cash from museum gift shop and attempted to hide her thefts by manipulating the museum's general accounting ledger. The thefts ocured between 2003 and 2008, according to reports. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges, including three counts of fraud, three counts of theft and one count of illegally conducting an enterprise. Sons is reported to have been a major gambler at the Desert Diamond Casino.

Read the story here, here and here.

Update: Former Tribal Leader Sentenced For Embezzlement

Glenn A. Marshall, 59, and the former chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for embezzling some $380,000 from tribal funds and for making $60,000 in illegal campaign contributions to select politicians with the help of convicted lobbyist, Jack A. Abramoff. He plead guilty in February. Upon sentencing, Marshall is reported to have said, "I apologize to my people, my family, my friends, and the court."

Read FraudTalk's earlier posts on this story here and here.

Read the story here.

Four Montana Residents Sued For Allegedly Misappropriating More Than $500K

Douglas Allen Pierce, 46, his wife, Claudia Gail Pierce, 48, and Larry R. Strouf, 47, all of Sidney, Montana and Richard "Ricky" D. Wolla, 48, of Minot, Montana, have been sued in federal court by Basic Energy Services LP for misappropriating more than $500,000 from the company with whom they had been employed. The civil complaint alleges that the defendants created false invoices in collusion with unnamed vendors, among other things, to siphon funds from the company and to enrich themselves. The false invoices would be paid and then the defendants would be provided funds, goods and/or services from the vendors, according to the complaint.

Read the story here including an itemization of the civil counts.

Nevada Real Estate Office Assistant Arrested For Embezzling Nearly $350,000

Sara Nicole Smith, 35, of Nevada City, Nevada, was arrested last week for embezzling nearly $350,000 from Cornerstone Realty, where she had been employed as an office manager. According to prosecutors, Smith's scheme lasted six years.

Read the story here.

Developing...

California Woman Reaches Plea Agreement In $400K Embezzlement Scheme

Maureen Rivera, 31, of Union City, California, pleaded no contest to charges she embezzled some $400,000 from Neopost, a mailroom services supplier based in Redwood City where she had been employed. Rivera is alleged to have written herself more than 100 checks between 2001 and 2007. She was originally charged with one count of felony grand theft by an employee and 117 charges of embezzlement. Sentencing is scheduled for June 30th.

Read the story here.

Missouri Union Pension Administrator Pleads Guilty To Embezzling $341K

Harry Keil, 51, of St. Charles, Missouri, pleaded guilty to embezzling some $341,000 from the Pension and Health and Welfare Funds of the Trustees of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 9 union where he was employed as a fund administrator. Specifically, Keil pleaded guilty to one felony count of embezzlement from an employee benefit plan and one felony count of mail fraud. Keil was originally indicted in late January for embezzlement wherein he was alleged to have created false invoices that were paid and from which he collected the receipts. He faces up to 25 years in prison, plus fines of up to $500,000 and restitution.

Read the story here, here and here.

Read the DOJ's announcement of his indictment here.

Update: South Dakota Woman Pleads Guilty To Fair Embezzlement

Kathleen "Kathy" Louise Gourley, 51, of Salem, South Dakota and the former office manager and bookkeeper of the Sioux Empire Fair Association, pleaded guilty with embezzling at least $100,000 from the association over a four period. Investigators now contend that the amount Gourley stole is as much as $579,000. Gourley admitted that she kept cash receipts intended for deposit. She faces up to 15 years in prison.

Read the story here.

Read FraudTalk's original post on the story here.

Read the original complaint here.

Update: New Hampshire Woman Pleads Guilty To $200K Embezzlement

Kelly Curley, 35, of Nashua, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to five counts of embezzlement by a bank employee and one count of identity theft in connection with the theft of more than $200,000 from an unnamed Massachusetts-based credit union. According to prosecutors, from June 2006 to February 2008, Curley obtained five loans for herself by allegedly using a co-worker's computer and identity and then used the proceeds for her own benefit. The plea agreement will allow her to serve 8 months of a two and a half years jail sentence - the remainder suspended. She was also ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution.

Read the story here and here.

Read FraudTalk's original post on this story here.

Another light sentence here...

Former Michigan Controller Sentenced To 1 Year For $2.2 Million Embezzlement

Pamela Blodgett, 56, formerly of Holly, Michigan, was sentenced to one year in prison and five years probation for embezzling more than $2.2 million from Vinyl Tech Window Systems where she had been employed as a controller for 10 years. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1.72 million. Blodgett plead no contest to five embezzlement counts last month. According to a civil complaint and prosecutors, Blodgett funnelled funds from the company to a lawn maintenance company she co-owned with her husband, William Blodgett. Blodgett also allegedly embezzled by way of improper credit card charges for vacations, jewelry, clothes, electronics and other expensive personal items. Vinyl Tech owner Paul Baker has had to lay off 45 people as a result of the embezzlement, which he believes exceeded $4 million.

Read the story here.

Update (3/11/10): Pamela Blodgett, now 57, pleaded guilty today to a federal charge of aiding a false tax return in connection with her multi-million dollar embezzlement scheme. Over a three year period, between 2003 and 2006, Blodgett reportedly issuing checks to Valley Lawn Maintenance Co., a landscaping company owned by her husband, William Blodgett. She faces an additional 3 years' prison time, plus fines upon sentencing, which is set for June 21.

Oklahoma Woman Pleads Not Guilty To $220+K Embezzlement

Ronda D. Crow, aka Ronda Taulbee, 48, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges she embezzled $221,741.70 from Cornerstone Home Health where she had been employed as a bookkeeper. According to prosecutors, Crow wrote 126 checks to herself and to a company she co-owned with her husband, R&R Sales, a feed company, between 2004 and 2008. Crow was previously convicted of embezzling $35,000 from the Tahlequah Mill and Elevator company in 1994, according to published reports.

Read the story here, here and here.

Update (8/4/10): Crow is expected to enter a guilty plea at a hearing on the case on August 19.

Former California Bookkeeper Gets 3 Years For Embezzlement

Anne Louise Asperger, 47, of Davis, California was sentenced to 3 years in prison for embezzling $333,103.30 from her former employer, an unnamed Sacramento, California-based construction company for which she had served as the sole bookkeeper. According to prosecutors, Asperger who plead no contest to the charges, issued herself some 68 checks between 2001 and 2006. Asperger reportedly manipulated the company's books and records in order to conceal her thefts. She also was ordered to pay restitution and pay the California Franchise Tax Board more than $33,000 in back taxes.

Read the story here, here and here.

3 So Californian Developers Plead Guilty To Embezzlement

Paul E. Gonya, 65, David Bartlett Waitley, 46, and Kenneth James Stroud, 53, all of Alpine, California, each pleaded guilty to three counts of grand theft in connection with allegations that they embezzled some $1.7 million in investor funds from Real Estate International, Inc., a development company they operated out of Alpine, California. A fourth conspirator, Marie Montibon Frever, 40, now of Hawaii and a former employee, previously plead guilty to one count of grand theft. Frever's felony charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor if she pays restitution of $25,000 within a year. The other three will avoid a five year sentence if they each pay $100,000 restitution within a year. Gonya and Waitley both previously served as members of the Alpine Planning Group responsible for zoning and development issues in the municipality. According to the original complaint, Gonya, Waitley, Stroud and Frever used investment funds from a partnership in Stagecoach Development, a project of 52 custom homes in Alpine, to pay for personal expenses and houses they were building elsewhere.

Read the story here, here and here.

Texas County Tax Collector Sentenced For Embezzling $430K

Hector Michael Cantu, 42, of Pearsall,Texas, was sentenced last week to 2 years in prison for embezzling some $430,000 from the taxpayers of Frio County, Texas, where he had served as tax collector between 1999 and 2004. Cantu was indicted on embezzlement charges in November 2007 and pleaded guilty last October 2008 to "theft from an organization receiving federal funds." Cantu reportedly pocketed cash from motor vehicle and property tax receipts even though the books and records reflected the receipt of the cash. Cantu was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $265,000. Cantu was first employed by the tax office in 1995 and later was elected to be tax collector until he lost his bid in 2004.

Read the story here and here.

Massachusetts Woman Sentenced For $400K Embezzlement

Barbara A. Jarosz, 39, of Saugus, Massachusetts, was sentenced last week to 2 1/2 years in prison for embezzling $404,000 from an unknown business in Malden, Massachusetts where she is believed to have worked as a bookkeeper. Jarosz, who pleaded guilty in February to seven counts of forgery, one count of larceny over $250, one count of falsifying/omitting bookkeeping entries and one count of obtaining a signature by false pretense, will also have to pay restitution. Jarosz is the wife of Eric Jarosz, a local attorney who lost his law license in 2006 for a nine month period. The nature of Barbara Jarosz' embezzlement has not been disclosed.

Read the story here.