Former Water District Utility Employee In California Reaches Plea Agreement In $200K Embezzlement Case; Gambling Addiction Asserted

From the Daily Journal on 1/23/14:

The wheelchair-bound former Mid-Peninsula Water District worker accused of stealing more than $200,000 to fund a gambling addiction pleaded no contest Wednesday to embezzlement in return for no more than five years in prison.

 Catherine Marie Abou-Remeleh’s alleged crimes went unnoticed for three years until the 53-year-old Hayward woman left the district on medical leave after a 2011 stroke. 

Abou-Remeleh was originally charged with theft of government funds more than $200,000, identity theft and an allegation of committing aggravated white-collar crime.

She changed her plea Wednesday to no contest on one count of committing government fraud and stealing more than $200,000. Prosecutors made no promises but the court capped her potential term at five years when she is sentenced May 30. She will also likely be ordered to pay restitution and an aggravated white-collar crime fine.

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