Union Local Bookkeeper In Michigan Sentenced For Embezzling $200K

Robin Wolff, 49, of Stevensville, Michigan, was sentenced to 2 years in prison for embezzling $200,000 from the Benton Harbor Local 383 of the United Automobile Workers union where she had served as a bookkeeper. Wolff plead guilty last July to one count of embezzlement and theft of labor union assets and one count of falsification of union financial records. Authorities alleged that Wolff issued herself 194 additional salary checks from union funds and charged personal expenses to union credit cards over a four year period. She was also ordered to pay $200,298 in restitution.

Read the story here.

Former Bank Exec From Missouri Sentenced In Bank Fraud. Embezzlement Case

Timothy Earl Ferguson, 48, of Columbia, Missouri, was sentenced to 41 months in prison for defrauding the US Bank where he had been employed as a bank officer. According to authorities, from 2002 and 2003, Ferguson created a series of fraudulent loans, totalling $660,000 and then deposited some $217,000 of the proceeds from those loans into his own accounts. Ferguson was also ordered to pay $1,053,684 in restitution.

Read the story here and here.

Former Courthouse Worker In Alaska Pleads Guilty To Embezzling $237K

Katherine L. Turner, 39, of Fairbanks, Alaska, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree theft, admitting she embezzled some $237,000 from the Fairbanks Courthouse where she had been employed as a district accounting supervisor . According to prosecutors, Turner misappropriated bail funds over a period of about three years, beginning in 2007.

Read the story here and here.

Ernst & Young Executive Assistant In California Sentenced For $1.7 Million Embezzlement Scheme

Lily C. Aspillera, 65, of San Francisco, California, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for embezzling some $1.7 million from the accounting firm of Ernst & Young where she had been employed as an executive assistant. According to prosecutors, Aspillera wrote numerous fraudulent checks to herself or to "cash" from an E&Y client account over a six year period, from 2002 until 2008. She also wrote checks to two employees of the client in excess of the funds they were due and had them kick-back the additional funds. Aspillera reportedly used the ill-gotten gains to finance a lavish lifestyle including a $180,000 down payment on a $1.1 million home in exclusive St. Francis Wood neighborhood of San Francisco, luxury trips, 2 BMW automobiles and jewelry worth more than $200,000. She plead guilty last April to mail fraud and tax evasion charges and must pay restitution of $1.7 million, plus $644,843 in back taxes. Independent research reveals that Aspillera filed for bankruptcy in October 2008.

Read the story here and here.

Read the DOJ announcements here .

2 Southern California Execs Indicted In FCPA Case

Keith E. Lindsey, 65, of La Canada, California and the president of Lindsey Manufacturing Co., and Steve K. Lee, 60, of Diamond Bar, California and Lindsey's CFO, were both charged with eight felony counts, including conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering in connection with the alleged bribery of a Mexican official identified as "N.M." in exchange for lucrative contracts. Prosecutors allege that Lindsey and Lee paid more than $5 million to an intermediary to purchase a luxury yacht and a Ferrari, among other things, for the Mexican official, believed to be Nestor Moreno, who recently resigned as director of operations for Mexico's national electric utility. Also indicted were Enrique Aguilar Noriega, 56, and his wife Angela Gomez Aguilar, 55, both of Cuernavaca, Mexico, who acted as the intermediary in the scheme.

Read the story here and here.

Read the DOJ announcement here.

Florida Businessman Pleads Guilty In Bribery Case

Lance Young, a Jacksonville, Florida businessman, pleaded guilty to bribery charges and agreed to testify against former Jacksonville Port Authority Vice Chairman Tony Nelson, 51, to whom he paid bribes in exchange for contracts. Young admitted that he agreed to pay Nelson an annual bribe of $102,000 to Nelson who then steered some $2.5 million in dredging contracts to Young's company, Subaqueous Services Inc. Nelson was indicted last January on 44 felony counts, including conspiracy, money laundering, mail fraud, bribery and making a false statement to the FBI.

Read the story here, here and here.

New Mexico Woman Charged With Embezzling $1.4 Million

Shirlene L. Childers, 55, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was charged with embezzling more than $1.4 million from JCH Industries, Inc., a local machinery company, where she had been employed as a bookkeeper. According to authorities, over a six year period, beginning in 2004, Childers allegedly issued more than 300 fraudulent checks to herself, family members, a company she owned, personal credit card bills or to pay for other personal expenses. Childers, who was described by the JCH's owner as his "most trusted employee," was charged with 306 counts of embezzlement. Authorities believe Childers misappropriated a total of $1,435,598. According to media reports, Childers has repaid about $500,000 thus far.

Read the story here and here.

Florida Woman Sentenced In $7.3 Million Embezzlement Case

Lori Lockman Julian, 48, of Casselberry, Florida, was sentenced to 57 months in prison for embezzling more than $7.3 million from the William C. Webb Co. and its related business, Industrial Park Development Corp., where she had been employed as a bookkeeper. According to authorities, Julian forged company checks written out to herself and others as well as made online payments to personal vendors and credit cards. The scheme, which netted Julian a total of $7,345,050.13, spanned more than 4 years, from August 2005 through October 2009, according to prosecutors. Authorities said she used the misappropriated funds to finance a lavish lifestyle including a second home, Orlando Magic season tickets, vehicles, boats, designer handbags and other personal luxury items. Julian pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in a plea agreement. She must also pay restitution.

Read the story here and here.

Watch a video on the story here.

Read the DOJ announcement here.

2 Attorneys Charged In $300K Florida Condo Association Embezzlement

Charles Bennett III, aka S. Charles Bennett, 61, of Naples, Florida (pictured here) and Kenneth M. Marwick, 64, of Bonita Springs, Florida, have been charged with grand theft in connection with the alleged embezzlement of some $300,000 from the Lovers Key Beach Club and Resort Condo Association. The two defendants are local attorneys who apparently handled some of the affairs of the Association. The misappropriation allegedly occurred over a two year period from 2006 until 2008. Specific details on the nature of the thefts have not yet been released.

Read the story here and here.

Oklahoma Woman Charged In $750K Embezzlement Case

Deena Louise Carrier, 41, of Chelsea, Oklahoma, was arraigned yesterday on charges she embezzled $752,177.19 from Osborn Engineering, Inc., a Tulsa-based manufacturer of metal recycling machines, where she had been employed as its office manager. According to authorities, over a period of more than 8 1/2 years, from January 5, 2001 until October 6, 2009, Carrier issued numerous checks for her own benefit, mostly for values less than $5,000. Authorities believe Carrier used some of the ill-gotten gains to purchase vehicles, including horse trailers and other items. Independent research suggests that Carrier is the owner of some horses and mules.

Read the story here.

Update (12/3/10): Carrier pleaded guilty to possessing and uttering counterfeit and forged checks and filing false tax returns for tax years 2001 through 2009. In her plea agreement, Carrier has agreed to pay $752,177.19 in restitution to Osborn Engineering and $140,953.28 to the IRS in back taxes owed. She is due to be sentenced on March 2, 2011.

Update (3/2/11): Carrier was sentenced to 41 months in prison, plus make resittution of $752,177.19 to her former employer, Osborn Engineering and now $286,648 to the IRS for taxes owed on the ill-gotten gains.

Update: Former Vermont Town Treasurer Charged With Embezzling More Than $400K

Donald Hewitt, 58, of Ira, Vermont, was charged in state court with embezzling more than $400,000 from the Town of Ira, where he had served as town treasurer. According to authorities, a town audit revealed discrepancies in some of its accounts and implicated Hewitt in the misappropriation of $404,268. Hewitt reportedly admitted to the thefts, which occurred over a 6 year period, in order to pay personal bills. Hewitt had been town treasurer for 32 years.

Read FraudTalk's original post on this story here.

Read the story here and here.

Read the Vermont State Police announcement here.

Update (3/12/11): Hewitt reportedly entered into a plea agreement with federal authorities on a wire fraud charge, admitting he embezzled more than $404,000 from the Town of Ira in Vermont. Federal prosecutors allege that Hewitt's thefts began in 1980 and spanned a 30 year period. The case moved from a state to a federal jurisdiction due to the electronic transfers involved and the fact that the federal charge carries a 20 year sentence, instead of a 10 year sentence on the state level. According to the prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Tristram Coffin, Hewitt's scheme was accomplished by "issuing unauthorized checks, drawn on town accounts, to himself and then depositing the checks into personal accounts controlled by him; by misappropriating cash payments made by residents of Ira for town property taxes; and by forgiving without authorization property taxes due and owing to the town."

Update (4/11/11): Hewitt, now 59, formally pleaded guilty today to one count of wire fraud admitting he embezzled at least $300,000 from the Town of Ira, Vermont, where he had served as treasurer. He faces up to 20 years in prison, plus restitution and fines.

Update (1/19/12): Hewitt, now 60, has been sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to about $348,000 in restitution.

Arizona Woman Sentenced In $200K Embezzlement Case

Dawn McGill, 41, of Bouse, Arizona has been sentenced to three months probation after pleading guilty to charges she embezzled some $200,000 from BLH&T Construction and Excavation, LLC, where she had been employed as a bookkeeper. According to authorities, McGill misappropriated the funds from the company, owned by her mother Patty Hatch, and her husband, Byron Hatch, who hired her in 2007 and relocated McGill from South Carolina. McGill was indicted on counts of theft and fraudulent schemes and artifices on October 20, 2009 after the Hatch's found discrepancies in their accounts and brought it to the attention of authorities. The nature and methodology of McGill's thefts are undetermined at this time.

Developing...

Read the story here.

Iona College In New York Reports $800K Embezzlement Scheme

Iona College, in New Rochelle, New York, reported that it had fired two unnamed employees after an internal investigation revealed that they had allegedly embezzled some $800,000 from the institution over a ten year period. According to the college, one specific employee had misappropriated about $80,000 in extra compensation over at least 10 years with the help of the second employee. The scheme involved numerous fraudulent "small dollar transactions" including use of a college credit card and the issuance of college checks for their personal benefit. It also reportedly involved the fraudulent submission of phony invoices for payment.

Read the story here.

Update (10/27/10): The unnamed employee in question has been only officially identified as a "nun" who was fired after the revelations came to light. Nevertheless, it coincides with the abrupt departure of Sister Marie E. Thornton, 62, Iona's vice president of finance and it has been reported by media outlets that other Iona officials have confirmed the suspect to be Sister Thornton. Read an updated story here.

Update (12/10/10): Sister Thornton was formally indicted on charges she embezzled what is now believed to be $1.2 million from Iona College, although the college disputes that amount. Sister Thornton reportedly went on gambling junkets to Atlantic City. Read an updated story here and here.

Update (3/10/11): Sister Thornton, now 63, pleaded guilty today.

Update (11/10/11): Sister Thornton was sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release with 2,000 hours of community service. 

Comment: Ugh.  Not a very tough sentence.

Tennessee Woman Accused Of Embezzling $4.5 Million; Threw Lavish "Sweet 15" Party For Daughter

Leslie Anne Gibbs, now known as Leslie Anne Janous, 35, of West Knoxville, Tennessee, was arraigned last Friday on 13 counts of wire fraud in connection with her alleged embezzlement of more than $4.5 million from Scancarbon, Inc., a precious metal brokerage firm where she had been employed as a bookkeeper and human resources director. Authorities allege that Janous' scheme spanned at least four years since at least May 2006 until September 2010. The scheme allegedly involved Janous creation of "false gains in accounts payable" which she then allegedly transferred to account she controlled in the name of Lesleigh LLC. Janous came to national attention in 2006 when she and her domestic partner, Leigh M. Janous, 49, threw a lavish "Sweet 15" party for her daughter, Brittany, which was to be showcased on MTV's reality series, "My Sweet 16." Leigh Janous has not been charged at this time as being allegedly complicit in the crime.

We note that Leslie Janous dabbles in photography. Some of the lavishness she has bestowed upon her family at the expense of Scancarbon can be viewed here.

Read the story here and here.

Update (10/20/10): Media reports indicate that Janous had a prior conviction for embezzlement. According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, in 2002, Janous, then known as Leslie Anne Gibbs, was arrested for embezzling $38,844 from Elite Landscaping where she had been employed as a bookkeeper. Janous/Gibbs pleaded guilty in June 2004 and agreed to make full restitution. Thanks to letters of support and the restitution, the conviction did not appear in the public record. According to the article, she has transferred the properties she owned to her domestic partner, Leigh Janous, whom she married in 2005 in Provincetown, Mass.

Update (2/24/11): Leslie Anne Janous pleaded guilty today to two counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in connection with the embezzlement of more than $4 million from Scancarbon, Inc., where she had been employed as a bookkeeper and HR manager.

Update (10/3/11): Janous is now believed to have embezzled more than $6.6 million, according to prosecutors, who continued to investigate the thefts from Scancarbon, Inc. after her plea agreement last February.  Prosecutors, who are calling Janous a "perpetual liar" want the maximum sentence given of just more than 11 years.  Read an update of the story here.

Update (10/28/11): Janous has been sentenced to 9 years in prison. 

Massachusetts Lawyer, Wife, Accused Of Embezzling $1 Million From Clients

Peter J. Unitt III, 46, and his wife, Lee Peck Unitt, 45, both of Merrimac, Massachusetts, have been charged on multiple counts alleging they misappropriated more than $1 million from clients of Peter Unitt's Woburn-based law firm known as The Crest Group, LLC, where Lee Unitt also was employed as a secretary and paralegal. They have pleaded not guilty to charges of larceny of more than $250, conspiracy to larceny, embezzlement and forgery. According to authorities, the Unitts misappropriated refinanced loans and real estate of their clients. The schemes allegedly occurred between 2006 and 2007.

Read the story here and here.

Read the DA's announcement here.

Florida Woman Charged With Defrauding 2 Banks Out Of Nearly $450K To Support Her Death Row Son

Nazreen Mohammed, 47, of Summerfield, Florida, was charged last week with bank fraud, embezzlement and aggravated identity theft in connection with the alleged misappropriation of nearly $450,000 from two banks where she had recently been employed. According to authorities, Mohammed use her position at Fairwinds Credit Union to steal $127,431 through fraudulent loans and lines of credit in the names of mostly deceased or elderly clients over a period of about three months, from April 17 through July 18, 2009. Authorities also allege that Mohammed embezzled at least an additional $312,581 in a similar manner from the Royal Bank of Canada over a two month period from November 5, 2009, to January 7, 2010. Media reports suggest that Mohammed used some of the ill-gotten gains to help with legal expenses for her son, Dane Abdool, 21, who is currently on death row for burning to death his 17-year-old girlfriend, Amelia Sookdeo in February 2006. Abdool, pictured here, was convicted in 2008 of 1st degree murder by dousing a bound Sookdeo with gasoline and lighting her on fire. Nazreen Mohammed has self published two books about her son's case: The Unfortunate and The Pursuit of Justice. She faces up to 30 years in prison for each felony count.

Read the story here and here.