North Carolina Man Sentenced To 10 Years For Massive $17 Million Embezzlement Conspiracy Scheme

From the Gaston Gazette on 12/15/15:

An Iron Station man will spend a decade in prison for laundering money to pay for strippers, jewelry, a Mercedes-Benz and a lavish home.

James William Staz, 44, was sentenced in federal court Tuesday.

Staz and his father, William “Bill” Staz were arrested on federal charges more than a year ago, and both later pleaded guilty.

The elder Staz died at the age of 72 in his Huntersville home in May while awaiting sentencing, and his charges were officially dismissed in court Tuesday.

Both men had already admitted in court to using their payroll company to take more than $17 million from clients over the course of seven years.

          ...

Happy Holidays from FraudTalk & Marquet International

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Another Major Embezzlement inVermont: Non-profit Reports Possible Loss of "Hundreds of Thousands"

From VtDigger on 12/8/15:

A bookkeeper for a major Vermont nonprofit is under investigation for embezzlement, according to the organization’s top executive.

Hunger Free Vermont executive director Marissa Parisi said Tuesday that the organization believes that the employee may have been embezzling funds for years. The full extent is not yet clear, but she said that the total amount could be significant.

“We actually think the loss could be in the hundreds of thousands,” Parisi said.  ...



The Burlington Free Press also covered the story:

The leader of Hunger Free Vermont says an employee embezzled thousands of dollars from the organization's reserve fund, deceiving fellow employees and auditors for about a decade.

Executive Director Marissa Parisi said in a statement Tuesday that she was "devastated" by the discovery.

Parisi declined to name the employee or discuss criminal charges until an FBI review is complete. The employee had "bookkeeping responsibilities" and had held the position for 11 years, she said.
The employee has been fired, but no criminal charges have been filed.  ....

Meet Chris Marquet on September 18th at the ACFE Chicago Event Presenting the Keynote Address on the "Marquet Report on Embezzlement"

Chris Marquet will be delivering the keynote speech at the ACFE's Chicago Chapter meeting on September 18th.  The event will be held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago at 230 South Lasalle Street in Chicago, commencing at 11:30, including a luncheon.  It is worth 2 CPE credit hours for CFEs.  For more information and registration, go to their web site: http://www.acfechicago.org/Chicago_Chapter_Current_Events or email them at acfechicago@gmail.com.  It should be a fun event for those of you in the greater Chicago area.

Iowa Woman Sentenced For Embezzling $169K From Low Income Housing Management Firm

From the Omaha World-Herald on 3/24/2015:

An Iowa woman who embezzled $100,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development is heading to federal prison.

Melissa Edwards, 41, of Sioux City was sentenced Monday to one year in federal prison for making false statements to HUD. A federal judge also ordered Edwards to pay $179,118 in restitution.

Edwards managed a South Sioux City apartment building that offered Section 8 housing subsidized by HUD. Over a two-year period Edwards embezzled $169,924 from the management company, including more than $100,000 of HUD funds.

2 Former Army Personnel Sentenced For Embezzling $2.7 Million While Stationed in Saudi Arabia

From the DOJ on 3/20/2015:

NEWNAN, Ga. - Jasen Minter and Louis E. Nock have each been sentenced to four years, nine months in prison for stealing more than $2.7 million from a United States Government bank account while they were on active duty in the United States Army stationed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“This was an egregious abuse of trust by two former U.S. Army soldiers who had access to millions of dollars of government money,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn.  “Their conduct betrayed their trust and honor as servicemembers and took substantial funds away from the United States Military Training Mission in Saudi Arabia.”

J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: “While the sentencing of both former U.S. Army Captain Jasen Minter and Sgt. First Class Louis Nock will finally hold them accountable for their criminal actions in stealing over two million dollars in government monies, it remains to be seen if they will be able to repay the government in spite of the fact that, as part of their sentencing, they are ordered by the court to do so.  While both Minter and Nock were stationed in Saudi Arabia, their purpose as Finance Officers was to support the war fighter through the U.S.
Military Training Mission.  They, instead, literally sent boxes of U.S. cash back to the States for their own personal gain. This has been an extensive and protracted investigation initiated by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division and the Department of Defense- Office of Inspector General. The FBI will continue to work with its military components in ensuring that U.S. funds designated for military use are used as intended and not diverted to personal bank accounts as was seen in this case.”

“Instead of serving their country honorably while stationed overseas in a sensitive assignment, these two U.S. Army finance officers betrayed it by abusing their positions of trust and embezzling more than $2.7 million in American taxpayer funds,” said John F. Khin, Special Agent in Charge, Southeast Field Office, Defense Criminal Investigative Service.  “This sentencing should serve as a constant reminder that DCIS and our law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue corruption, fraud, and abuse within Department of Defense programs anywhere in the world, and bring violators to justice.”

“This sentencing is another great example of the work our special agents do on a daily basis,” said Frank Robey, the director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's Major Procurement Fraud Unit. “The defendants attempted to profit by compromising the readiness of our servicemembers during a time of war, but this joint investigation unraveled their scheme and now they are being held responsible for betraying the trust placed in them.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Minter and Nock served as the Finance Officer and Deputy Finance Officer, respectively, for the United States Military Training Mission in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 2006 to 2007. As part of their duties in the Finance Office, Minter and Nock had access to a U.S. government bank account that was held at the Saudi American Bank.

In June 2006, the defendants withdrew approximately $1.2 million in cash from the bank account and kept those funds for their own benefit. In August 2006, they made another withdrawal of more than $1.5 million in cash, and again kept the funds for their own use instead of returning them to the Finance Office. Before leaving Saudi Arabia, both defendants falsely affirmed in Finance Office records that there were no missing funds from the bank account. An audit conducted by the Department of Defense later revealed the theft of funds. 

Jasen Minter, 44, of Fayetteville, Georgia, has been sentenced to four years, nine months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,216,617.97.  Minter was convicted on these charges on November 21, 2014, after he pleaded guilty.

Louis E. Nock, 48, of Orlando, Florida, has been sentenced to four years, nine months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,216,617.97 to the United States Army. Nock was convicted of these charges on January 5, 2015, after he pleaded guilty.

Georgia Woman Accused Of Embezzling $2.5 Million From Hair Products Company

From WDEF 12 on 3/20/2015:

Prosecutors say a former employee of a metro Atlanta hair products company has been arraigned on nine counts of fraud related to theft.

Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn says Veria Fields of Atlanta appeared in court Thursday. Prosecutors say she stole more than $2.5 million from Bronner Bros. in Marietta from 2006 to 2010. She was indicted on March 4.

Prosecutors say 54-year-old Fields offered unauthorized discounts to customers in exchange for cash payments made directly to her. They say she used her position as an account manager to conceal the discounts and theft.

Former Little League Treasurer In New Jersey Pleads Guilty To Embezzling More Than $100K

From NBC10 on 3/21/2015:

The former treasurer of a New Jersey youth sports league has admitted embezzling more than $100,000.

 

Hunterdon County prosecutors say 43-year-old Kevin Lockrey, of Flemington, recently pleaded guilty to theft by deception. He faces a 364-day county jail term when he's sentenced June 26, and he also will have to make full restitution to the Flemington-Raritan Baseball League.

 

Lockrey was charged last year after discrepancies were found during an audit of the organization's finances.

 

Prosecutors did not say why Lockrey took the money or how he used it.

Virginia Woman Charged With Embezzling $469K From Local Architectural Firm

From The Virginian-Pilot on 3/21/2015:

A former employee of a prominent Virginia Beach architecture firm was arrested Thursday in connection with an embezzlement scheme that cost the company nearly a half-million dollars.
Katherine Albert-McNaughton, 36, of Virginia Beach was charged with one count of making a forged security and two counts of engaging in monetary transactions relating to criminally derived property.

According to the indictment, Albert-McNaughton worked for HBA Architecture & Interior Design. It alleges she forged the signature of one of her bosses on 83 checks between October 2011 and June 2014. The checks totaled $469,831.89 and ranged in value from $768 to $9,987.

The theft was revealed last year during an internal audit, according to an affidavit for a search warrant filed in Virginia Beach Circuit Court.

Albert-McNaughton was responsible for handling the firm's accounts, making bank deposits and distributing petty cash and charitable contributions, the affidavit said. She also was required to make monthly reports to the firm's financial manager regarding discrepancies between the company's bank statements and general ledger.

The affidavit said the financial manager found a check missing and asked Albert-McNaughton for the statements. Albert-McNaughton became nervous and started crying, and claimed she had just received a call about a family member who had been in an accident. She said she needed to go to the hospital and left, the affidavit said.

HBA Architecture is a familiar name in Hampton Roads. The firm worked on the new Kellam High School in Virginia Beach, as well as the new library in the Churchland section of Portsmouth and that city's new courthouse. It also has worked for TowneBank, Wachovia, the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, the Virginia Port Authority and the Children's Museum of Virginia.

Former Firefighter In North Carolina Pleads Guilty To Embezzling $120K; Was Previously Incarcerated For Killing His Grandparents

From Civitas Media on 3/20/2015:

After 40 months of incarceration in the Scotland County Detention Center, James Rupard came face-to-face with an assembly of his victims for the first time on Thursday as he pleaded guilty to 17 felonies.

Before Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Richard Brown, the 53-year-old Rupard issued a 15-minute statement to the dozen present members of the Stewartsville Volunteer Fire Department and Scotland County Firefighters’ Association.

His words expressed contrition for the seven years he spent — while holding various positions of authority in both organizations — creating secret bank accounts and transferring thousands of dollars between them, his personal accounts, the account for his insurance business, and yet another account under his ex-wife’s name.

“From a biblical standpoint, my actions were absolutely sins,” he said. “From a legal viewpoint, they were criminal. I lived with a false sense of comfort that, because I had no intention of stealing anything permanently, only using it and replacing it, that I was not sinning, that I was not breaking any laws or rules.”

But Rupard’s words rang false with each of his victims who cared to venture an opinion. William Skipper, current president of the firefighters’ association, requested on behalf of the association as a whole that Rupard receive the maximum allowable sentence.

Rupard pleaded guilty to six counts of embezzlement, five counts of obtaining property by false pretense, four counts of malfeasance by a corporate officer, and one count of embezzlement by an insurance agent, all class H felonies carrying a maximum 30 month sentence for each. In addition, he also entered a guilty plea to a forgery charge, a class I felony with a 15 month maximum sentence.
As part of Rupard’s plea bargain, additional charges were dismissed by the state.

Following the day-long proceedings, Rupard was ordered to serve eight to 18 months active sentence, followed by six months of house arrest and an extended probation period that will last as long as it takes him to pay restitutions totalling more than $120,000.

“He broke trust with many, many, many people in this community,” Skipper said. “James had everybody fooled that he could possibly fool. He is a master manipulator.”

The prosecutor, senior assistant District Attorney Joanna Shober, chronicled Rupard’s move to Scotland County in the 1990s and the process by which he ingratiated himself with the community, volunteering with the Stewartsville fire department and the firefighters’ association as well as the American Red Cross and Republican Party.

In 2009, when Rupard was initially charged with insurance fraud, Scotland County learned the shocking past of a man it had welcomed with open arms 10 years earlier.

For 15 years, Rupard served time after conviction for second-degree murder in the 1978 shooting deaths of his grandparents, Ruth and Lester Rupard, who raised him, in Banner Elk.

Rupard was released in 1994. According to the N.C. Department of Corrections, he was last incarcerated at McCain Hospital in Hoke County.

Rupard was also a licensed insurance agent and the owner of American Insurance Marketing, and the pastor of Sandhills Community Church. Ironically, Shober pointed out, Rupard sent about $2,600 of the misused funds to Campbell University for his divinity school tuition.

...

Read the whole exhaustive story here.

Hawaii Woman Charged With Embezzling $500K+ From Non-Profit

From KITV on 3/19/2015:

Laura Pitolo, 37, was charged Wednesday with six felony theft counts for allegedly diverting more than $500,000 in state funds from Waianae Community Outreach for use by herself, family members and friends, Attorney General Doug Chin announced.

"The charges against Ms. Pitolo are the result of over seven months of investigation conducted by special agents for the Attorney General into the misuse of state funds at Waianae Community Outreach," said Deputy Attorney General Michael Kagami of the Criminal Justice Division. "The evidence uncovered indicates Ms. Pitolo diverted a substantial amount of state funds for personal use."

"Hawaii citizens trust that their hard-earned tax dollars will be used to make communities better and not help one person get rich," said Chin. "The amount allegedly stolen here is extremely serious."
Waianae Community Outreach receives funding from the state of Hawaii to serve homeless individuals at its Kealahou West Oahu shelter.  Pitolo was the program director at the time the thefts occurred.  She was charged with five counts of first degree theft, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine, and one count of second degree theft, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

In 2013, WCO filed a civil lawsuit against Pitolo alleging she stole more than $760,000 from the nonprofit organization. Christy Ho, WCO's attorney, says the dollar amount discrepancy compared to the criminal case is because of evidence that the AG's office was able to gather.

"It's probably just a result of different records that they investigated," said Ho. "To me, in general, it's pretty close."

WCO recently asked for summary judgement regarding its civil lawsuit against Pitolo and is awaiting the results of that request.

"If she has any assets, you know we're definitely going to look into that," said Ho. "Any paychecks from anywhere, inheritances (and) any property. We'll try to see if there's anything to recover."
Ho said about 300 clients living at the homeless shelter didn't notice major changes because of Pitolo's alleged transgressions. That's because dedicated workers frequently took month-long pay lags to keep operations intact.

"The residents didn't feel any affect from it at all," said Ho. "So, they recovered quite nicely and kept on rolling, business as usual."

The Department of Human Services refused to say how much money is given to WCO every year, saying Hawaii law prohibits DHS from commenting on active investigations.

Pennsylvania Man Pleads Guilty To Charges He Embezzled $209K From Boys/Girls Clubs

From the York Daily Record on 3/18/2015:

A Newberry Township man with financial authority over the Pennsylvania Council of Boys and Girls Clubs pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $200,000 from the organization over a period of years.

According to Pennsylvania State Police reports, between 2006 and his resignation in 2011, Thierry Pierre Malley, 62, "had exclusive control" over obtaining and expenditures of the council's funding.
Shortly before Malley's resignation, the council became "concerned and aware of the possibility of misappropriated funds," according to the criminal affidavit.

A forensic audit, completed in April 2012, revealed that almost $209,000 was missing from the council's account.

Cpl. James K. Adams Jr. , who investigated the thefts, reported that Malley also had a fictitious set of accounting ledgers that he used to cover up the embezzlement.

Adams said, when confronted with the evidence, Malley admitted to converting the council's money for his personal use. Adams noted that during the time the money was being funneled off, Malley, "on numerous occasions," was paying down his credit card balances.

Tuesday, before entering his guilty pleas in a negotiated agreement with the Dauphin County District Attorney's Office, Malley made a payment of $200,000 in restitution to the council, according to court documents.

Georgia Woman Sentenced For Embezzling $225K From Local Aquarium

From The Associated Press on 3/19/2015:

Fulton County prosecutors say a former Georgia Aquarium employee has been sentenced to 20 years in an embezzlement scheme with four to serve in prison.

District Attorney's spokeswoman Yvette Jones said Thursday that 24-year-old Marina Davis pleaded guilty to racketeering charges and 11 counts of theft. Prosecutors say Davis stole roughly $225,000 from the aquarium during an 11-month timespan between 2012 and 2013.

Authorities say Davis was an accounting assistant and was responsible for processing credit card refunds to customers. Prosecutors say Davis fraudulently processed more than 100 refunds to more than a dozen debit cards that were either linked to her bank account or her roommate's bank accounts.

Prosecutors say the fraud was discovered after Davis quit her job and a manager who began processing refunds noticed the discrepancy.

Massachusetts Man Charged With Embezzling $1.1 Million From Real Estate Developer

From the Worcester Telegram & Gazette on 3/18/2015:

A trusted employee who worked for a quarter-century at one of the area's largest development companies is accused of embezzling more than $1 million by electronically diverting money to secret accounts.

Michael R. Lussier, 59, with a last known address of 13 Pond St., Paxton, was arrested in Rhode Island on a warrant on Feb. 18 and he was brought to Milford District Court where he was arraigned on two charges of larceny over $250.

Mr. Lussier was ordered held on $50,000 cash bail, which has since been posted. He had a pretrial hearing Monday, and the case was continued to April 10.

According to court documents, Mr. Lussier worked as controller/accounting manager for FRE Building Co. Inc. since November 1986. Mr. Lussier is alleged to have electronically diverted $1.1 million from the company to bank accounts for his personal use. Mr. Lussier's arrest last month capped a yearlong investigation that began on Feb. 24, 2014, and included the help of a private investigator hired by the company to track Mr. Lussier, who at first called in sick with the flu and then disappeared for several months, according to court documents.

Milford police were called to the company's offices at 120 Quarry Drive to meet with executives concerning weekly withdrawals Mr. Lussier allegedly had been making from the business bank account with Santander and depositing into a personal account at the same bank.

According to police records at Milford District Court, Mr. Lussier would make weekly transfers from the bank account from Quarry Square Realty Trust, an affiliate of FRE that owns and operates a shopping plaza in Milford, to a joint account that he had opened in his name and in the name of Madlyn Fafard, one of the principals of FRE. Mr. Lussier would make the transfers by writing a bank check made payable to Mrs. Fafard, and he would sign his name and endorse the check with a rubber stamp "Pay to The Order of Sovereign Bank . . .For Deposit Only Madlyn Fafard Escrow Michael R. Lussier."

Mrs. Fafard, however, told investigators she was unaware of the account and never authorized Mr. Lussier to open it; furthermore, she never accessed, deposited or withdrew funds from the account. Mrs. Fafard could not be reached for comment. A message was left for Paul J. Beattie, general counsel for Fafard Real Estate, but was not returned.

Attempts to reach Mr. Lussier by phone were unsuccessful, and a message was left for his Worcester attorney, James Gribouski, as well.

Court documents, however, outline alleged embezzlement that dates back to 2011.

From May 2011 through January 2014, Mr. Lussier is alleged to have electronically transferred $1.1 million from the joint account he created with Mrs. Fafard's name to his personal account. Mr. Lussier allegedly made three to six transfers to his personal account in a month. None of those transfers was authorized and "there is no business rationale why the Trust's funds were transferred to the Lussier Account," according to court documents.

It is also alleged Mr. Lussier hid the bank statements for the joint account he opened with Mrs. Fafard's name. When a statement was discovered, which noted transfers to his private account, a trustee of the company questioned Mr. Lussier. Mr. Lussier explained that his joint account was an account for Mrs. Fafard in Florida.

A day later, Mr. Lussier called in sick with the flu and later said he was being treated at UMass Memorial Medical Center. He never returned to work. Mrs. Fafard told police, according to court documents, she did not remember opening a bank account with Mr. Lussier, and she never signed any bank signature cards. She said she didn't oversee the company accounts because "I trusted him."

Mrs. Fafard stated she had "no idea or involvement with Mr. Lussier's actions," according to a report filed by Milford police Detective Carlos Sousa.

Police were unable to reach Mr. Lussier, and FRE hired a private investigator who tracked Mr. Lussier to Paxton, where he was living with a roommate, only to learn they no longer lived there. A warrant was issued for his arrest on Oct. 31 and he was arrested last month.

Former Director Of Missouri Domestic Violence Shelter Sentenced For Embezzling $115K

From the Associated Press on 3/19/2015:

A former director of a domestic violence shelter in her north-central Missouri hometown has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for on-the-job embezzlement and fudging grant requests.

Fifty-one-year-old Deborah Wallace of Marshall also was ordered Wednesday to repay $115,219 to the Lighthouse Shelter and $268,468 to the Missouri Department of Public Safety.

Wallace pleaded guilty last June to charges of stealing government property and making false claims for reimbursement under a federal grant.

Prosecutors say that over a five-year period into 2013, Wallace used Lighthouse credit cards and bank account to pay personal expenses. She also admitted she submitted fraudulent monthly invoices in support of grant applications and spending.

Wallace was Lighthouse's executive director from early 1999 to April 2013.

Former Municial Treasurer In Illinois Charged With Embezzling More Than $1 Million Over 20 Year Period

From the Cook County State's Attorney's Office on 8/15/2013:

The former treasurer of a suburban township school district that manages finances for multiple school districts and agencies in the western suburbs has been charged with stealing more than $1 million dollars from the organization over a 20 year period, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced today.

Robert Healy, 54, of LaGrange Highlands, served as the Treasurer of the Lyons Township Trustees of Schools for 24 years from 1988 through 2012.  He has been charged with Theft of Governmental Property, a Class X felony and Official Misconduct, a Class 3 felony for allegedly bilking the organization of  more than $1.5 million. If convicted, Healy faces up to 30 years in prison.  Healy resigned his position in September 2012.

The Lyons Township School’s Treasurer’s Office, located in LaGrange Park, manages more than $280 million in public funds on behalf of 13 school districts and agencies in the western suburbs of Cook County, including Western Springs, LaGrange Park, Lyons, Summit/Argo, LaGrange Highlands, Willow Springs, LaGrange, Burr Ridge, and Justice.  The districts serve over 21,000 school children.

According to prosecutors, the defendant was responsible for maintaining and managing all monies, books and papers belonging to the 13 schools districts and agencies under his control.  This process required Healy to invest school funds and to manage payroll for the 13 school districts and agencies. In his capacity as treasurer, the defendant was entrusted with access to school district funds, and authorized to sign checks and make withdrawals from school district bank accounts for legitimate school business.

Beginning in late 1989 and continuing through April 2012, prosecutors allege that Healy added unauthorized compensation to his bi-monthly paychecks, or issued himself additional salary and benefits totaling $630,346.78.  In addition, from February 2002 through April 2011, the defendant is alleged to have made 105 unauthorized wire transfers out of the Lyons Township Schools’ bank account to his personal bank account totaling $900,853.32.  Healy also made an unauthorized wire transfer in July 2011 to purchase a luxury automobile in the amount of $7,547.51 toward the down payment on the vehicle’s lease.

According to court documents, the total of all unauthorized payments made by defendant, either by check or wire to the defendant or on his behalf was $1,538,747.61.

Healy was arrested on Wednesday and appeared for a bond hearing today at the George Leighton Criminal Courts Building in Chicago, where Cook County Judge James Brown set his bail at $100,000 and continued the case to September 4, 2013.

Former CEO Of Colorado Real Estate Concern Pleads Guilty To Embezzling More Than $400K From Association Members

From the Associated Press on 3/17/2015:

The Summit County district attorney says a woman has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $400,000 from a local real estate agents' association she had led for nearly two decades.

A statement Monday from District Attorney Bruce Brown's office added Sue Frank, the former chief executive officer of the Summit Association of Realtors, is scheduled to be sentenced May 19. She faces up to seven years in jail for felony theft.

Frank was arrested in December and accused of forging checks and making unauthorized transfers into her own account from the nonprofit association formed to support real estate agents with educational and other services.

Former Public Housing Employee In Delaware Under Investigation In $201K Embezzlement Case

From the Associated Press on 3/17/2015:

The Wilmington Housing Authority says federal authorities are investigating allegations that a worker took more than $200,000 from the organization.

Housing Authority Board Chairman Herman Holloway Jr. said Monday that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is investigating the allegations.

Holloway says $200,987 in rent was taken from Crestview Apartments starting in 2012. The 149-unit building is one of 18 developments the agency operates.

The worker has not been charged but records show the person has left the position.

Michigan Man To Be Sentenced After Pleading Guilty To Embezzling $800+K From Steel Company

From the Huron Daily Tribune on 3/17/2015:

Monday’s sentencing for a 34-year-old Akron area man who has pleaded guilty to embezzling from a Pigeon factory has been adjourned until next week.

It’s alleged Chad Letson embezzled more than $800,000 over roughly three years from Blue Diamond Steel in Pigeon, and he previously plead guilty to one count of embezzlement greater than $100,000, and one count of using a computer to commit a crime.

 

According to court officials, the Huron County Circuit Court criminal docket for Monday had to be rescheduled, as Judge Gerald M. Prill had a family funeral to attend.

 

Letson admitted he committed embezzlement during a February hearing in circuit court. He told Prill that when he was in a supervisory position at Blue Diamond, he used his computer to sell the company’s property via eBay and PayPal on multiple occasions between January 2011 and November 2014.

 

The crime of embezzlement is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and/or a $50,000 fine, or three times the amount embezzled, whichever is greater. The crime of using a computer to commit a crime is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

 

Letson’s sentencing was adjourned until 1:30 p.m. March 23 in circuit court.

Former Title Insurance Agent in Florida Accused Of Embezzling $705K In Client Funds

From the Naples Daily News on 3/14/2015:

A former title insurance agent in Estero accused of siphoning more than $705,000 from her clients in 2010 faces theft and fraud charges.

Lana Kaye Dargai, of the 22000 block of Forest View Drive, was arrested March 7, accused of stealing escrow funds put aside for the purchase and sale of real estate in Estero and Bonita Springs in June and July of 2010, according to the Florida Department of Financial Services.

The department's Division of Agent and Agency Services and Division of Insurance Fraud investigated the case. Dargai was doing business under the name Global Title Co., which she owned.The investigation also found:

--Global Title used escrow money to purchase cashier's checks to pay its own monthly rent and its own property taxes.
--In one instance, $9,000 in escrow money was moved into a bank account for Dargai's father.
--At least eight times, from August 2009 through June 2010, funds from the company's escrow account held with Bank of Florida were transferred into Global Title's operating account, held with the same bank.

Dargai faces up to 15 years in prison for first degree grand theft and fraud charges, and her title agent license has been revoked. Dargai's case will be prosecuted by the State Attorney's Office in Fort Myers.

"These cases are thoroughly investigated, which takes time. Also, the State Attorney's Office had a forensic accountant going over all the facts and figures," said Ashley Carr, a spokeswoman for the Department of Financial Services. Dargai, she said, turned in her Global Title agency license in 2011.

She made off with money from at least five clients. Stewart Title Guaranty, the underwriter for the money, reported the fraud to the state.

"The clients weren't even aware of any issues as Stewart Title covered the losses," Carr said. "The clients are not out any money. The victim is Stewart Title." 

Florida Community Bank was among the claimants that Stewart paid.

Michigan Woman Indicted For Allegedly Embezzling $160K From Bank

From the Lansing State Journal on 3/15/2015:

A former employee at Mason State Bank has been indicted on a charge that she embezzled $160,000 from the bank over a three-year period, federal officials said.

Megan Kolberg, 36, of Mason, was indicted March 11 in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids for embezzlement over $1,000 and appeared before a magistrate on Friday, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a news release.

The government alleges Kolberg stole cash from the bank from December 2009 until May 2013 and concealed her actions by making false entries in the bank's records.

If convicted, Kolberg would face up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. She has been released on bond, it said.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and Mason police, the attorney's office said.

Lansing Community Newspapers readers chose Kolberg as their "favorite bank teller" in the company's 2011 People's Choice edition. Lansing Community Newspapers is a publication of the Lansing State Journal.

There was no answer at Kolberg's listed phone number on Saturday. She didn't return Facebook messages seeking comment.

It was not clear on Saturday whether she had retained an attorney.

Michigan Woman Pleads Guilty To Embezzle $300K From Local Little League

From the Battle Creek Enquirer on 3/13/2015:

A former treasurer of a Detroit-area Little League organization is awaiting sentencing after admitting to embezzling more than $100,000 from the group.

The Macomb Daily reports Karen Dimitrie pleaded guilty Thursday to embezzlement over $100,000 for taking money from 2008 to 2013 while she was treasurer of the Clinton Valley Little League. She faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced May 6.

Dimitrie was accused of taking up to $300,000 from the league. That amount has been disputed by her lawyer Dan Garon, however, who has said his client has repaid some of the money.

The amount of restitution hasn’t been determined. Macomb County Circuit Court Judge James Maceroni scheduled an April 16 status conference on that issue.

Indiana Municipal Employee Accused Of Embezzling $430K In Public & Charitable Funds

From WTHR 13 (NBC) on 3/12/2015:

A former Bloomington city employee faces federal charges for stealing about $430,000 in public money and charitable contributions.

Court documents say Judith Seigle used the money for "personal expenses, such as dining, clothing, a vehicle, and multiple credit card debts."

Seigle worked as the office manager for Bloomington's Parks and Recreation Department and did the books for the non-profit Bloomington Community Parks and Recreation Foundation, Inc.

Investigators say both positions gave her access to money and financial records. She is accused of taking approximately $30,000 from the city and about $400,000 from the foundation.

The charges filed Wednesday describe the lengths investigators say Seigle went to in order to conceal the embezzlement for nearly four years, starting in 2010.

Prosecutors say she made personal purchases with foundation credit cards issued to her or to former or deceased Bloomington employees. They also say she diverted checks intended for the Parks Department to the foundation's bank account, and then used the money for herself.

Investigators determined Seigle used "Microsoft Excel to create false bank statement entries, which she then printed, cut, and taped on top of actual bank statements for the Foundation's account. She then scanned or copied these altered statements and provided them to the foundation's executive director and board of directors."

Seigle left her job with the city last October after being questioned about the missing money. She faces one charge of wire fraud. The federal court entered a not guilty plea for her and scheduled a trial for May.

Former Hospital Union Head In Alabama Accused Of Embezzling $132K

From Alabama Media Group on 3/12/2015:

The former president of the union for federal employees at Birmingham's Veterans Affairs hospital has been indicted on charges that she embezzled more than $132,000 in chapter funds.

Stephanie Hicks, 43, of Birmingham, was indicted on bank fraud, forgery and aggravated identity theft charges, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance.

"Union members elect officials to represent them and protect their interests," Vance said in a statement. "A labor union official who chooses, instead, to live the high life by stealing from local members has committed a crime and should prepare to go to prison."

According to the indictment, Hicks served as president of the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2207, AFL-CIO, at the hospital from July 2007 to July 2013. Dues collected from the chapter's 440 members were kept in two bank accounts, a general operating account and a legal fund account at Wachovia Bank, then Wells Fargo.

Hicks is accused of using her position as president to make unauthorized transactions from the accounts for her benefit, including writing checks for travel that didn't happen, forging the names of other officers and members, and making debit card purchases and cash withdrawals, according to the news release. She is also accused of covering up the expenses by not keeping records, in violation of federal laws and the local's constitution and bylaws, and didn't seek approval for the charges.

Hicks faces eight bank fraud, eight forged security and three aggravated identity theft counts.

She was indicted last month and the indictment was unsealed after her arrest Wednesday.

"This indictment is a testament to the excellent interagency cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Justice," said Monty Stokes, the special agent in charge of the Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of the Inspector General. "As president of the local union, Hicks represented Local 2207, with more than 400 VA members. VA OIG will continue to pursue those that abuse their positions of trust and steal from innocent victims."

The Veterans Affairs OIG and the Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards and OIG investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Xavier O. Carter is prosecuting it.

"OLMS aggressively investigates allegations of financial mismanagement by union officers," said Hollis Lindley Jr., the investigator with the Office of Labor-Management Standards. "Union members have an expectation that their elected officers are using the union funds for legitimate union purposes. This particular case was severe in the amount of money stolen and in the degree of concealment."

Scandals at the Central Alabama Veterans Healthcare Systems led to James Talton, the system's director, being removed from his position last year.

Former Paralegal In Georgia Pleads Guilty To Embezzling $600K From Law Firm's Client Accounts

From the Augusta Chronicle on 3/12/2015:

A paralegal who was accused of stealing almost $600,000 from a law firm and its clients pleaded guilty Tuesday after just two days of a trial in which he represented himself.

Richard Owen faced 253 counts of bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering. From 2007 to 2012, Owen worked for the Victor Hawk law firm. His duties included ensuring medical bills were paid for clients with civil financial settlements, and that clients received all money left over after the firm was paid its fee, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Solari said during proceedings Monday.

Solari said Owen would write out checks in clients’ names, forge their signatures and deposit the checks in his personal bank account. Owen’s signature was later recognized after clients began to voice concerns, Solari said.

 By the time the scheme unravelled, Owen had spent more than $550,000 on collectible coins, Solari said.

Attorney Victor Hawk said after the plea Tuesday that Owen could now face a prison sentence up to 50 years.

Brenda Barrette has been confined to a wheelchair since a 2008 accident. She testified Tuesday that she never saw any of the 26 checks totaling more than $113,000 that Owen deposited. Owen was supposed to help her with the insurance settlement and pay all of the bills accumulated during 13 surgeries and medical treatments after an infection settled into the hip she broke.

“I kept getting the bills,” Barrette testified. Barrette was one of 41 clients whose signatures were allegedly forged on the checks deposited into Owen’s account.

Attorney Melissa Detche­mendy, an associate at the Victor Hawk law firm for 11 years, testified that when Owen left the firm in the summer of 2012, his calls started coming to her. Clients’ medical expenses that were supposed to have been paid – and according to the records Owen created, were paid – were still due.

She and Hawk went to retrieve the firm’s bank records but they had disappeared, Detchemendy testified.

When replacement bank records from 2011 arrived, Detchemendy testified she was responsible for going through them. Dozens of checks made out to clients were in the records and for the first time she saw the back side of the checks with the signature lines. The signatures were in Owen’s handwriting, Detchemendy testified.

Michigan Man Is Sentenced For Embezzling $1 Million From Insurance Agency

From WSJM-FM 94.9 on 3/11/2015:

Embezzlement, uttering and publishing and forgery are landing a 45-year-old St. Joseph man in prison for up to 20 years. John Page was sentenced this week in Battle Creek for stealing roughly $1 million from the Worgess Insurance Agency in the Cereal City, where he had been the firm's president. He took the money between December 2008 and last May, and said he was doing it in an attempt to save the company from financial ruin. Worgess is covering the losses through insurance and no clients suffered any losses. The firm's vice president, Jacob Worgess, disagreed with Page's contention that he was trying to save the company, as did Calhoun County Prosecutor David Gilbert, who called it "greed and greed alone." Page was sentenced to a term of between five and 20 years behind bars.

Former Corporate Controller In California Accused Of Embezzling $400K

From the Sacramento Business Journal on 3/11/2015:

A federal grand jury in Sacramento on Wednesday indicted an El Dorado Hills man on charges of wire fraud related to alleged embezzlement of $400,000.

Prosecutors said that from 2009 through 2011, while he was controller of the victim company, Jeffrey Lamson used company funds to make unauthorized payments to himself, other people and a fictitious vendor that was in fact controlled by Lamson.

Prosecutors declined to name the victim or to say why they would not do so. They said the company has locations in Placer and Sacramento counties.

"The name of the employer is not in the public record," said Lauren Harwood, public information officer with the U.S. Attorney.

Lamson, 51, was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service‑Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shelley Weger and Jean Hobler are prosecuting.

Kansas Woman Sentenced For Embezzling $837K

From The Capital Journal on 3/11/2015:

A Lawrence woman was sentenced Wednesday to 24 months in federal prison for embezzlement and ordered to pay $837,000 in restitution to her former employer.

U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said Sharon Ann Holladay , 58, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court at Topeka to one count of embezzlement. In her plea, Holladay admitted the crime occurred while she worked as an officer manager for Westheffer Company, a Lawrence business that manufactures and sells agricultural chemical spray equipment.

Grissom said Holladay admitted using her access to the company’s financial system to transfer money from the operations account to a petty cash fund she controlled. She also used her access to the payroll system to give herself unauthorized bonuses and commissions. In addition, she made unauthorized purchases on the company’s credit card, Grissom said in a news release.

Pennsylvania Woman Sentenced For Embezzling $600K From Auto Dealership

From TribLiveNews on 3/11/2015:

A Lawrence County woman's request for home confinement as punishment for stealing nearly $600,000 from her employer was bold if not bordering on delusional, a federal judge said Wednesday.

 

U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon sentenced Deborah Cassini, 62, of New Castle to 3 ¹⁄₂ years in prison and three years of probation.

 

The former office manager for Three Rivers Volkswagen of South Hills, Cassini pleaded guilty in August to four counts of wire fraud and three counts of filing false tax returns.

 

Her thefts nearly drove the dealership out of business, said Kathi Tennant, president of the company.

We almost got padlocked three times, she said after the hearing. Bissoon ordered Cassini to pay $250,000 in restitution to the dealership's insurer and $397,000 to the dealership to cover her thefts and the cost of an audit that uncovered them.

 

The dealership is still recovering. It hasn't returned to the financial position it was in before Cassini began stealing, Tennant said.

 

We've gotten through the worst, she said.

 

Cassini apologized for her crimes.

 

I never thought it would come to this, she said. I never thought it would be this much money.

 

While Cassini worked at Three Rivers Volkswagen, she lived in Peters. Between 2006 and 2011, she used her online access to the company's bank accounts to make 163 payments to her credit cards and six payments on her BMW, prosecutors said.

 

She issued herself additional paychecks 98 times, regularly skimmed cash and wrote business checks to herself and to cash, prosecutors say. She concealed the thefts by making false entries in the dealership's accounting system and preparing false financial statements, prosecutors said.

 

This was a long, destructive course of embezzlement and lies, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Karl said.  And it nearly destroyed Three Rivers Volkswagen.

 

Cassini embezzled money so that she could play slot machines to forget her depression and other problems, said her attorney, Douglas Sughrue.

 

Instead of cognitive therapy, she went to the casinos, he said.

 

Sughrue said Cassini didn't set out to steal $600,000. Most of the thefts were in small increments, and his client didn't total them to see how much she was stealing, he said after the hearing.

 

The vast majority of them, in fact, are what the government and I would call cash skimming, he said.

 

The evidence in the case showed she spent money on a lot of things other than gambling and generally was living beyond her means, Bissoon said.

 

The defendant stole until there was nothing left to steal, the judge said.

Michigan Woman Accused Of Embezzling As Much As $500K

From the Grand Haven Tribune on 3/11/2015:

Jodi Lynn Kotrch, 47, is facing charges of embezzlement of more than $100,000, forgery, and uttering and publishing.

Meanwhile, her husband was arrested on a probation violation charge out of Berrien County.
A lawsuit filed in October 2014 claims Jodi Kotrch stole more than $500,000 from Magnum Outdoor LLC of Nunica, for whom she did accounting work.

“We believe she used her relationship with the company to convert funds for her personal use,” said Capt. Mark Bennett of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department. “She could have been responsible for up to $500,000 in funds taken between 2011 and 2014.”

Although Jodi Kotrch’s husband has not been charged in the embezzlement case, the lawsuit claims that Scott David Kotrch “assisted and conspired” with his wife “by selecting the vehicles, snowmobiles, boat and other personal property to be purchased with plaintiff’s funds.” It also claims that Scott Kotrch was aware that his wife was converting property that belonged to Magnum Outdoor LLC, and much of that property was titled solely in his name.

Bennett said police are still investigating the case and it is possible that there will be more charges.
Jodi Kotrch turned herself in to authorities at the Ottawa County Courthouse last week after a warrant was issued for her arrest. According to court records, she posted a $5,000/10 percent bond and is free pending her next court hearing, currently scheduled for March 17.

Scott Kotrch, 51, was originally charged with possession of a controlled substance (schedule 1 or 2 narcotic), according to Berrien County Prosecutor Mike Sepic. Kotrch was sentenced in April 2014 to two days in jail and one year of probation.

Sepic would not comment on what Scott Kotrch — who was on “jail hold” in Ottawa County before being transferred to Berrien County — may have done to violate his probation. Sepic said arraignment on the probation violation would likely happen within a day after Kotrch arrived in Berrien County.

Lawsuit status

The lawsuit claims that Jodi Kotrch used Magnum Outdoor LLC funds to purchase vehicles and pay off her husband’s credit card, joint credit cards, their mortgage payments and landscapers.

It claims the fraud was discovered after she bought a $200 steak with the company credit card.

On Oct. 13, 2014, an Ottawa County judge signed a temporary restraining order “enjoining the defendants from disposing of assets.”

Subsequent motions note that the Kotrches sold some of the vehicles that were named on a list and requested a show-cause hearing as to why they should not be charged with contempt for disregarding the court order.

The show-cause hearing was scheduled for March 2, but was rescheduled for a later date.
In a previous story, attorneys for both sides in the lawsuit said they were continuing to work toward a resolution and would not offer further comment.

Court records show that Jodi Kotrch filed for divorce from her husband in February.

Pennsylvania Woman Found Guilty Of Embezzling $110K Of Bank's Cash From Brinks Trucks

From the Philadelphia Inquirer on 3/10/2015:

A former Brinks employee was found guilty yesterday of embezzling $110,000 that had been destined for a suburban bank.

Tanika Victory Little, 36, was employed as a messenger for the armored car company in 2011 when she twice “came into possession of incorrectly routed bags of cash,” federal prosecutors said.

On Feb. 15, 2011, Little received sealed bags of $20 bills that were to be delivered to the Bank of America branch in Drexel Hill. One of the bags, containing $18,000, failed to make it to the bank though Little marked it as having been delivered. On March 1, 2011,  another sealed bag of $20 bills, this time totaling $92,000 went missing in transit. Again, Little marked it in a manifest as having been delivered to the Drexel Hill branch, according to court documents.

Employees at the branch soon discovered the money was missing. An investigation traced the missing cash to deliveries that had been made by Little.

Little, who made $41,000 a year from her Brinks job, had gone on a spending spree, according to court documents.

She paid down her car loan and paid off liens on her South Philadelphia house. She deposited $41,840 – all in $20 bills - into three different bank accounts during the spring of 2011. On June 29, 2011, she purchased 27 money orders, totaling about $13,000 from eight different stores in South Philadelphia. She paid for home improvements, including the rebricking of her home at 20th and Opal Streets, with $25,000 in cash. When a Secret Service agent questioned Little about her spending, she claimed the money was income from a part-time security job or won in a state lottery.
Authorities could find no evidence of the second job or lottery winnings, according to court papers.

After a grand jury indicted Little on embezzlement charges in September 2012, she was ordered to surrender two Glock firearms she owned to the Secret Service.

In defiance of the court order, she tried to sell them to city gun shops. The shops refused to accept the firearms due to defaced serial numbers. One of the store owners reported Little to the state Attorney General’s office. On top of the embezzlement charges, she was charged on weapons counts, according to court documents.

A federal jury in Philadelphia found Little guilty of two counts of bank theft and one count of possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

When she is sentenced in June, Little faces up to 3 years in prison, a fine of up to $2.1 million, and up to five years of supervised release.

Former Municipal Recreation Department Manager In Kansas Indicted For Embezzling $125K

From Fox 4 Kansas City on 3/9/2015:

It was announced Monday that the former recreation director for the City of Osawatomie is scheduled to appear in court this month on a federal indictment alleging he embezzled more than $125,000 from the city.

According to a news release from the Office of U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom, Ron Maring, 53, of Osawatomie, Kansas, is scheduled for an initial court appearance on March 27 in U.S. District Court in Wichita. Maring is charged with four counts of tax fraud and 10 counts of money laundering.

Per the release, the indictment alleges that from 2008 to 2011 while Maring was director of the Osawatomie Recreation Commission he embezzled approximately $125,665. He wrote checks from the recreation commission’s account to himself and to American Legion Baseball. He converted the money for his own use and not for the use of the recreation commission or American Legion Baseball.

As part of the scheme, he persuaded recreation commission board members to sign blank checks, used his own signature as an endorsement, instructed a recreation commission employee to endorse checks and forged the name of recreation commission members.

The indictment alleges he failed to report the embezzled money as income on his 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 federal income taxes. The indictment also cites 10 dates in 2011 in which Maring deposited stolen funds into his personal account.

...

Read the whole story here.

Maryland Man Accused Of Embezzling $344K From Non-Profit Health Concern Is Also A County Employee

From WTOP on 3/7/2015:

A man who’s facing federal charges of embezzling money from employees of a nonprofit health organization is working as a fiscal officer for the Howard County government.

County government spokesman Andy Barth tells The Baltimore Sun (http://tinyurl.com/mg34xgp) that William “Kris” Hathaway works in the county’s Department of Citizen Services.

Barth says Hathaway underwent a background check before he was hired and there was nothing found that would have prevented him working for the government. He declined to comment further.

Hathaway is the former CEO of Baltimore Behavioral Health, which offered mental health and addiction treatment. Federal prosecutors allege that the company held onto payroll tax dollars due to the IRS and that Hathaway mishandled $344,000.

Hathaway’s attorney has said his client is not accused of taking money for personal gain.

New Mexico Woman Charged With Embezzling $822K

From the Deming Headlight on 3/7/2015:

A local woman has been charged with 11 counts of embezzlement after a three-year investigation.
Anna Delgado, 45, was arrested Thursday during a routine traffic stop — without incident, said Deming Police Department Chief Brandon Gigante.

"The New Mexico Taxation and Revenue completed a thorough audit and discovered numerous criminal violations," said Gigante. "Detective (Clint) Hogan took over the investigation and issued the arrest warrant."

Delgado is charged with eight counts of second degree embezzlement (over $20,000) and three counts of third degree embezzlement (over $2,500).

Gigante said the investigation began in 2009 when complaints from customers at the Mimbres Valley Escrow surfaced.

Delgado is accused of embezzling almost $822,000 from Luna County residents.

In July of 2012, New Mexico State Police and officials from the state Licensing and Regulation Department took over the business and suspended business operations in accordance to a court order.
The court orders — filed in the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe — order stated Mimbres Valley Escrow, had been conducting its business in an unsafe and injurious manner having been conducting its business in violation of the Escrow Company Act.

Mimbres Valley Escrow owners, Anna and Jesus Delgado business was shut down in July of 2012. Jesus was not implicated in the criminal complaint.

According to the criminal complaint, on January of 2010, DPD detectives were notified of a possible embezzlement case involving Delgado.

Investigators said it all began with Delgado allegedly embezzling $53,148.17 from customers of the escrow company. As the investigation continued, more evidence against Delgado was collected and contact was made with the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department/Financial Institution Division.

On March 3, Deming Police were notified the investigation of Delgado was completed by the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department Tax Fraud Investigations Division and charges were approved for Delgado.

Gigante said Detective Hogan issued an arrest warrant for Delgado on Thursday, and she was arrested on Thursday as well.

Delgado is facing up to three years and a $5,000 fine if convicted, for the third degree charges and up to nine years and a $10,000 fine if convicted on each individual count.

Delgado is being held in the Luna County Detention Center with a $190,000 cash-only bond.

Local County Commissioner In Michigan Pleads Guilty To Embezzling More Than $100K From County Agencies

From The Herald-Palladium on 3/7/2015:

Berrien County Commissioner Robert Wooley on Friday pleaded guilty to felony embezzlement charges, admitting he stole more than $100,000 from the senior citizen center he directed and a smaller amount from a fire department.

Wooley is free on bond pending sentencing April 20 in Berrien County Trial Court.
 After appearing in court for a case conference, he pleaded guilty to charges of embezzlement by agent or trustee over $100,000, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

He further pleaded guilty to attempted embezzlement of $20,000 to $50,000, a five-year felony.

The plea was accepted by Judge Sterling Schrock, who asked Wooley a series of questions to establish a factual basis.
 

The 62-year-old Coloma resident admitted that he embezzled more than $100,000 from the North Berrien Senior Center while serving as director from 2007 to August 2014.
 

He further told the court he converted more than $20,000 but less than $50,000 to his own use by writing checks to himself while serving the North Berrien Fire Rescue Department as a board member and part-time bookkeeper from 2011 to 2014.
 

With the guilty plea, Wooley loses his seat on the county Board of Commissioners, a position he has held for 16 years. The county board has scheduled a special meeting for 3 p.m. Monday to acknowledge the vacancy and establish the procedure to appoint someone to fill it.
 

Wooley represented the county board's 1st District, which covers the northern portion of the county.

After being charged with the senior center embezzlement, Wooley continued to fulfill his responsibilities as a county commissioner, attending meetings as recently as Thursday.
 

Following Friday's court session, Wooley's lawyer, Andrew Burch, said his client used the embezzled money for gambling, and at one point he attempted to win enough to repay what was taken.
 

Chief Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Smith said that under terms of a plea agreement, the original charge of embezzlement from the fire board was reduced to attempt. Also, the prosecutor's office agreed not to file any additional charges stemming from either case.
 

Wooley, in addition to pleading guilty to the two charges, agreed to pay restitution.
 

He was charged in December with embezzling money from the senior center, where he served as director since 1996.
 

Prosecutor Michael Sepic said at the time the charge was filed that about $150,000 was taken over seven years from the senior center at 6648 Ryno Road in Coloma.
 

A state police investigation began in January 2014 after a financial institution reported questionable transfers of money into Wooley's account.
 

Wooley transferred money periodically from senior center accounts to an investment account, police said. He then regularly moved funds from the investment account into his personal account.
 

Shortly after the charge was filed, the fire board discovered through an audit several financial irregularities, including checks that appeared to have forged signatures.
 

Wooley resigned his position on the fire board and police began an investigation.
 

The charge involving embezzlement of money from the fire board was recently authorized by the prosecutor's office. Wooley had not been arraigned on the charge when he appeared in court Friday, but waived his right to a preliminary hearing before pleading guilty.

New Mexican Woman Pleads Guilty To Embezzling More Than $200K From Mortuary - Avoids Prison Time

From NewsWest Ch. 9 on 3/4/2015:

A 63-year-old woman accused of embezzling more than $200,000 from a northern New Mexican mortuary over a three-year period will be sentenced next month under a plea agreement that will keep her out of prison.

The Las Vegas Optic (http://goo.gl/JcT02j ) reports that former Rogers Mortuary employee Molly Martinez pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement last month.

The agreement provides for a nine-year sentence but calls for the sentencing judge to suspend or defer the sentence or to conditionally discharge the conviction if Martinez stays out of trouble.

It also calls for five years of probation and requires Martinez to pay $20,000 in restitution when sentenced plus any other restitution to be determined by probation officials.

In exchange for her guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop a fraud charge.

Former Church Pastor In Connecticut Accused Of Embezzling Nearly $200K From Parishoner

From WFSB TV3 on 3/3/2015:

A former pastor is waiting to stand trial for accusations that he stole more than $100,000 from an elderly parishioner.

Now, he is in trouble with the law again.

Trumbull police arrested Robert Genevicz for larceny.

He once served as pastor of Stratford's First Baptist Church.

Detectives said in 2010 Genevicz was acting as a power of attorney and embezzled close to $200,000 from an elderly man who has since passed away.

Police said his accomplice was identified as Doraine Reed, who is being held on a $100,000 bond.

Authorities said Genevicz and an accomplice bought a Mercedes and a hummer, taking out a loan, registering it and insuring it in the victim's name.

Genevicz is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

Georgia Man Sentenced For Embezzling $1 Million From Local Paint Company

From the Atlanta Business Chronicle on 3/3/2015:

DeMarco Doxie was sentenced to four years and five months in prison for stealing more than $1 million from former employer Ennis Paint at its Atlanta plant.

Doxie, 44, of South Bend, Ind., also must pay $1,008,417 in restitution to Ennis Paint and $299,750 in restitution to the IRS.

According to Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Doxie was the former corporate environmental health and safety manager for Ennis Paint, which makes and sells a variety of road marking and pavement surface treatments. The company, currently known as Ennis-Flint, maintains a facility in Atlanta, where Doxie worked.

From June 2007 through August 2011, Doxie used a sham business that he created and owned – Outlook Environmental & Safety Solutions LLC – as his main vehicle to systematically embezzle large sums of money from Ennis.

Beginning in June 2007, Doxie began creating fictitious invoices for environmental work that Outlook had supposedly performed for Ennis Paint, when Doxie was well aware Outlook had not performed any such work and had no employees. Ennis Paint was never informed by Doxie that he was the actual owner of Outlook.

Doxie also defrauded Ennis by using an American Express corporate card issued by Ennis Paint that was supposed to be used for Ennis expenses. Doxie used the American Express company credit card to make payments to Outlook even though Outlook had not performed any work for Ennis. Ennis Paint paid the monthly bill on Doxie's American Express card.

Doxie also paid for some of his personal expenses using his Ennis-issued credit cards in 2011.

Former Treasurer Of Local Elementary School PTO In Indiana Accused Of Embezzling $120K

From the Indianapolis Star on 3/6/2015:

The PTO treasurer at Fortville Elementary School has been asked to step aside as the organization launches an investigation into its finances.

The former treasurer, 39-year-old Marcy Smitley, is accused of stealing more than $120,000 from a homeowners association she managed on the south side of Indianapolis. Smitley faces 21 felony counts, including theft and forgery, Fox59 reports.

She's also served as PTO treasurer for two school years, according to the PTO president. However, the district said they've seen no signs of theft from the PTO account.

"My reaction was just amazement. I was shocked," said William Riggs, superintendent of the Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation. "She's done a good job of being a volunteer."

Riggs said the district got tipped off by a local paper.

Marion County prosecutors said Smitley took approximately $127,983 from the homeowners association at the Windslow Crossing condominium complex on the south side from 2009 to 2014. Smitley was working as a manager of that HOA, collecting dues, paying bills, and getting bids for various jobs on the property, according to a board member.

Investigators said she wrote unauthorized checks to her own management company. By May of last year, HOA leaders were suspicious and found the alleged fraud.

Smitley was booked in jail and bonded out last week. That's when the school got wind of the charges.
"That's something that they'll go through their receipts and their revenues and take a look at, but there's nothing I'm aware of that's inappropriate at this point," said Riggs.

Riggs said PTO funds are separate from school funds. The accounts typically don't carry large balances, no more than $5,000, and money from fundraisers is quickly reinvested in the school.
Still, PTO President Mary Jo Adams told us by phone that they are reviewing every transaction to make sure no money in their account is missing. She anticipates their preliminary investigation will be complete next week.

We went to Smitley's home for comment, but nobody answered the door.

North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty To Embezzling $11 Million In Payroll Tax Fraud Scheme - Lived Lavishly

From WSOCTV on 3/5/2015:

An Iron Station man pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday on charges he bilked $11 million from clients and used it to fund a lavish lifestyle, including strip club visits and three-tiered pools.

James Staz, 44, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion as part of a plea agreement. A superseding indictment filed in court charged him with 16 counts.

James Staz and his father, William Staz, operated payroll company Employee-Services.net and provided several duties for clients, including collecting and paying employment taxes, investigators said.

Court documents allege the company collected $11 million to be used for federal and state employment taxes, but in reality it went toward James Staz and Williams Staz's lifestyles.

The executive director of one of the victim companies, The Chapel Hill Training-Outreach Project, said the first realized something was wrong in early 2014.

"We received a phone call from an IRS agent asking us where our most recent tax withholdings check was," said Mike Mathers, executive director for the company. The nonprofit helps children with disabilities.

"Employee Services took care of (our tax withholdings) and apparently that was the beginning of (Employee Services) not taking care of it," Mathers said.

James Staz on a single day "spent a total of $38,880 at strip clubs and night clubs," the indictment indicated.

Investigators want the pair to pay for their alleged financial crimes.

The father and son's company once had around "500 client companies located in North Carolina" and other states, according to the indictment.

James Staz could face up to 20 years in prison.

Former Firefighter In Virginia Pleads Guilty To Embezzling $109K From Union

From the Suffolk News-Herald on 3/5/2015:

A former Suffolk firefighter pleaded guilty on Thursday to embezzlement and forgery in a scheme that stole about $109,000 from the local firefighters’ union.

Sheron Alen Gibson Sr., 41, faced 12 counts of embezzlement in addition to the forgery charge but pleaded guilty to only one count each of embezzlement and forgery as part of a plea agreement.

Gibson was secretary/treasurer of the Local 2801 of the International Association of Fire Fighters from 2008 to 2013, according to evidence presented in court by prosecutor Marilyn Sallee.

On Feb. 24, 2014, president Travis Peirce was notified that a check made payable to the Muscular Dystrophy Association had been returned for insufficient funds. The firefighters do a fundraiser for the MDA every year, and the check that was returned was for the proceeds of the fundraiser, Sallee said in court.

That was the first indication that there was a problem with the union’s bank accounts, Sallee said. Peirce contacted law enforcement.

A forensic accountant found that 67 checks payable to Gibson, none of which had been authorized by the union, had been written on the account. As his was a volunteer position, “No check at all should have been made payable to the defendant,” Sallee said in court.

In addition, a debit card was used to pay recurring monthly bills for accounts the union never opened. The debit card in itself was not authorized, Sallee said.

The account also was being used to pay vendors for Gibson’s business, Virginia Fire Extinguishers Inc., which sells and services fire extinguishers and other workplace safety products.

Sallee said yearly audits on the union’s account were not being performed as required. One purported audit, dated in 2012, appeared to have been done by a legitimate auditor who had worked with the union previously, but it turned out to be a forgery, including the business’s letterhead and the signature on the report.

When Peirce confronted Gibson about the missing money, Sallee said, Gibson admitted to Peirce he had stolen more than $90,000.

Sallee said full restitution has been made to the union.

Gibson declined comment as he left the courtroom on Thursday morning.

Gibson was named Firefighter of the Year in 2009. He served as a firefighter and medic. At the time of the Firefighter of the Year award, he taught emergency medical courses to fire department personnel and worked as an emergency care technician at Sentara Obici Hospital. He served in the U.S. Navy Reserves for four years.

A sentencing date is set for May 21. The other 11 charges of embezzlement were not prosecuted as part of the plea agreement

Colorado Woman Charged With Embezzling At Least $100K But As Much As $1 Million From Local County

From Aspen Public Radio on 3/5/2015:

A former Garfield County employee is going before a judge this morning. Robin McMillan is charged with stealing from the Clerk and Recorder’s office. The District Attorney’s office says she stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from her work. McMillan faces a class three felony of theft of one hundred thousand dollars up to a million dollars. She’s also charged with a class five felony for embezzlement.

McMillan has not entered a plea as of Wednesday afternoon. She was arrested last August after another accountant at the Clerk and Recorder’s office noticed something was wrong.

Forensics are playing a role in the case, and McMillan’s attorney says that report isn’t done yet... and it made not be available for another week or so. The District Attorney’s office says there will likely be an extension to allow McMillan to enter a plea later on.

Tennessee Woman Sentenced For Embezzling $350K From Knoxville Business

From the Knoxville News Sentinel on 3/5/2015:

Embezzler ordered jailed for failing to report purloined cash to IRS

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered a woman who stole more than $350,000 from a family-owned Knoxville firm to spend six months behind bars and another six months on house arrest.

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Georgia Man Sentenced For Embezzling $500K From Hospital

From WSAV3 on 3/4/2015:

Federal prosecutors say the former payroll director at Grady Memorial Hospital has been sentenced in an embezzlement scheme.

Authorities said Wednesday that 55-year-old Donald Thomas was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison for stealing roughly $500,000 from the hospital.

Investigators say Thomas falsified additional vacation and severance pay records for former hospital employees and deposited the money into his own accounts. Prosecutors say most of the money was funneled into a business account and the theft was discovered when Thomas was laid off in 2011.

Officials say one of the employees noticed inflated income that was listed on their federal W-2 and reported it to hospital officials. Investigators found 136 fraudulent transactions worth more than $480,000.

Thomas is ordered to pay restitution to the hospital.

Former Texas Banker Sentened In $462K Embezzlement Scheme

From The Associated Press on 3/3/2015:

A former Houston banker must serve nearly two years in prison for stealing more than $462,000 and using some funds to buy gifts for co-workers.

Quinhun Rollins was sentenced Monday in Houston. The 42-year-old woman in October pleaded guilty to bank fraud.

Rollins must serve 33 months behind bars and repay the money stolen since 2012 from a Green Bank in Houston.

Investigators say Rollins funneled unauthorized bank payments, disguised as funds meant for vendors, to her personal account at another bank.

Authorities say Rollins used the stolen money to provide gifts to fellow employees, who were not aware of the scam, and also to fund parties at her house.

Ohio Woman Pleads Guilty In $5.2 Million Bank Embezzlement Case

From WHIO on 3/2/2015:

A Miamisburg U.S. Bank manager who allegedly embezzled more than $5.2 million to reportedly feed a gambling habit has agreed to enter a guilty plea.

Amy Scarpelli, 48 when she was arrested last year, is scheduled to plead guilty to one count of embezzlement in front of U.S. District Court Judge Walter Rice on April 2 in Dayton’s U.S. District Court.

“The parties have reached a plea agreement, which will be filed on the day that there’s a change of plea hearing,” assistant U.S. attorney Brent Tabacchi said. “The ultimate format of the plea agreement, whether it’s a binding plea agreement or some other iteration, is still to be determined.”

There are other people listed in the federal complaint against Scarpelli, but Tabacchi did not address whether or not they will face prosecution in this case.

As for Scarpelli’s plea deal, prosecutors and defense attorneys Dennis Gump and Lawrence Greger are still determining the parameters and don’t agree on the actual loss amount. Whether or not the attorneys agree on a sentence range, Rice ultimately can impose any sentence he chooses.

“I think she’s accepting responsibility for her participation in the statement of facts that she’s willing to accept,” Gump said. “We’ve worked closely with the U.S. attorneys office and they’ve provided us everything that we’ve asked for.”

The federal statutory maximum penalty for embezzlement is 30 years, but Gump said the range Scarpelli would face is more like four to six or seven years.

“I think gambling is a disease no different than alcohol or drugs,” Gump said. “And I think that we present to the court our sentencing memorandum as they will be presenting theirs and then it will be up to Judge Rice to decide that sentence in that range.”

A federal complaint alleged that Scarpelli and her friends gambled, vacationed and spent freely from 2009 to 2014. The document stated that Scarpelli had approximately $12,287,112.37 in “coins in,” or money spent at slot machines, at Hollywood Casino, while her domestic partner had $7,702,695.22 in “coins in.” Both were awarded “icon” status at the casino in Lawrenceburg, Ind.

Scarpelli and her domestic partner also allegedly purchased some lots at Lake Waynoka. A Secret Service investigation “revealed Caribbean cruises,” paid for by Scarpelli and her domestic partner. Scarpelli also bought a lake house, campers, boats, motorcycles and cars, according to a court document.

Court documents allege Scarpelli used a sophisticated methodology of withdrawing funds from between $25,000 and $45,000 and replacing them with cashier’s checks in a roofing business’ line of credit that was supposed to have been closed.

Scarpelli was released from jail in October when she agreed to wear an electronic monitoring device and remain on house arrest in a West Carrollton residence. She was hired at the Miamisburg branch at 515 E. Central Ave. in 1996 and became branch manager in 2006.

Disbarred California Attorney Surrenders To Authorities For Allegedly Embezzling $500K From Clients

From the Orange County Register on 2/27/2015:

A disbarred Tustin attorney who was listed as a fugitive turned himself in this week to face multiple felony embezzlement charges.

Peter Rimel, 52, is facing 27 felony charges, including grand theft, money laundering, theft from an elder and aggravated white collar crime over $500,000 for embezzling large amounts of money from his client, an elderly man who “treated Rimel like a son,” according to court documents.

Rimel, who had been missing since the charges were filed in November, came into Orange County Superior Court on Wednesday accompanied by his attorney, said Deputy District Attorney Demetra Lewis, who is prosecuting the case.

Rimel pleaded not guilty to all charges and is scheduled to appear again in court on May 18. He is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail and must prove that the money came from a legitimate source before he can post bail, Lewis said.

His attorney, Gregory Lee, was not immediately available for comment. Rimel was disbarred in August 2014, state records show.

Former Municipal Town Clerk In Michigan Charged With Embezzling $100K

From The Voice on 2/3/2015:

The severity of charges against former Clay Township Clerk Lisa White was upped Feb. 23 when she was charged with embezzlement greater than $100,000 at the 72nd District Court in Marine City.

White was previously charged with embezzlement by a public official over $50.

Appearing with her attorney, Arthur Garton, she waived her right to a preliminary hearing Feb. 23 before Judge Cynthia Platzer.

She declined to speak about the case and her legal counsel did not return phone calls or a request for comment at the preliminary hearing.

“I generally don’t comment to reporters,” Garton said.

A $50,000 surety cash bond already posted was carried over by Platzer. White has apparently moved from Clay Township, giving the judge a new home address in neighboring Fair Haven.

After the initial charges, White stopped coming to work while still collecting a paycheck of more than $1,200 a week, according to township officials. After the charges came down, she was not allowed access to any information involving township business. She resigned from her positon five months later on Feb. 17.

“Her attorney sent a letter of resignation to the prosecutor,” said Clay Supervisor Artie Bryson. “She will not be fulfilling the rest of her term.”

The township now has 45 days from the resignation to appoint a successor. If they don’t find one by then voters will elect a replacement in May.

St. Clair County Senior Assistant Prosecutor Melissa Keyes did not speculate on why White chose to waive the hearing.  

...

Read the whole story here.

Former Bookkeeper Of Tennessee Sportsmen's Club Sentenced For Embezzling $541K

From the Commercial Appeal on 2/26/2015:

A former bookkeeper for the Menasha Hunting and Fishing Club was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to a single count of wire fraud, according to U.S. Atty. Edward Stanton’s office.

...


The prosecutor's announcement of a guilty plea in the case on 11/25/2011 reads as follows:

Edward L. Stanton III, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee announced today that Hazel Cathy Wadley, 58, of Memphis, Tennessee, entered a guilty plea yesterday to defrauding the Menasha Hunting and Fishing Club of approximately $541,500.

According to facts revealed in the criminal information and recited during the plea, Wadley was employed at Jim Keras Nissan, and also performed bookkeeping duties for the Menasha Hunting and Fishing Club. The information alleges that between October 2007, and August 2013, Wadley stole funds from Menasha by using funds in Menasha's bank account at Suntrust Bank to make online payments of her personal debts and expenses.

California Woman Charged With Embezzling At Least $100K

From the Marin Scope on 2/26/2015:

A Sausalito woman charged with embezzlement pleaded not guilty on Friday in Marin County Superior Court, but was denied release until the source of her bail money is examined.

Chandra Love, 37, was arrested by Sausalito police on Wednesday, Feb. 18, on suspicion of embezzling more than $100,000 from a tax consulting company, Lt. Kurtis Skoog said.

The prosecutor objected to requests to reduce Love’s bail and informed the court that Love had her bags packed and was heading out of the door when officers arrived at her home.

“She is a con, there is no doubt about it, and she’s good,” Deputy District Attorney Lori Frugoli said at the arraignment.

Frugoli declined to comment after the hearing. In court, however, she said Love’s former employer and alleged victim found $120,000 had been embezzled from the company.

Love had fraudulently listed her husband as an employee at the business, Frugoli said.

Love reportedly told her employer she had cancer and needed payroll advances in August 2013. Her employer later found she was writing checks from the business to herself and doctoring financial records, according to Skoog.

“There is no evidence Love was ever suffering from cancer,” Skoog said. “Investigators believe that Love was making these statements in order to defraud her victims.”

Police interviewed Scott Nelson, the owner of Tax Incentives Group at 3030 Bridgeway in Sausalito and determined Nelson was the possible victim of embezzlement at this workplace, according to an affidavit filed by Sausalito police Detective Ryan McMahon.

“In 2009, Nelson employed Chandra Love as an assistance office manager. During her time working for Tax Incentive Group, the defendant gained Nelson’s trust and was fully in charge of submitting and approving payroll,” McMahon said. “There were no checks and balances in place to oversee the defendant’s payroll submissions.”

Love also allegedly opened credit card accounts and charged $50,000 after befriending a Bui Trang and suggested the two purchase Sabrina’s Salon in Sausalito, which later changed names to Belle Rouge Salon, according to court documents.

When Trang decided not to go into business with Love and confronted her about the accounts, Love asked her not to call the police because she only had months to live, Skoog said.

Det. Ryan McMahon, who led the two-year investigation, requested Love be required to appear at a bail hearing to examine the source of the funds Love was attempting to use to post bail.

Love’s attorney, Sanaz Nikaein, called the $250,000 bail excessive and said her client is a happily married woman with a minimal criminal record and was not a flight risk. Nikaein said Love’s mother in Oklahoma has arranged bail for her daughter.

“[Love] had the heads up since 2013,” Nikaein said in open court. “If she was going to flee, she could have before she was arrested.”

Love is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on March 6.

Colorado Woman Charged With Embezzling At Least $150K From Computer Graphics Company

From NBC 9News on 2/26/2015:

A woman has been charged for stealing tens of thousands of dollars from her employer.

Kristie Marx, 44, was charged with computer crime, two counts of theft and two counts of forgery.
Marx is accused of stealing more than $150,000 from Blue Moon Works, a computer graphics company she worked for.

Through several schemes, she allegedly charged personal items to a company credit card, gave herself an unauthorized pay raise, manipulated state and federal withholding taxes, wrote herself checks from the company account and added herself and her dependents to the company health insurance plan.

Marx was arrested last week and formally advised of her charges Wednesday. She is in custody on a $10,000 bond.

Marx will appear in court April 13 for a preliminary hearing.