Massachusetts Woman Sentenced for Embezzling Over $1 Million

The District Attorney for the District of Massachusetts announed in late October that Grace Oliver, of Acushnet, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 46 months incarceration on charges of possessing forged securities of a corporation engaged in interstate commerce.

Oliver had earlier pled guilty, on August 6, 2007, to embezzling funds from her employer, Superior Drywall in Westport, where she served as a bookkeeper from January 2004 to December 2006.  Oliver forged 447 company checks payable to herself, as well as her credit card companies, mortgage holders, and others to whom she owed money. Oliver secretly prepared the checks and forged the signature of the company’s principal owner. Oliver deposited some of the checks into her personal bank accounts, others she used to transfer money to her friends and associates. Oliver covered up her scheme entering false payee information into the company’s accounting software, to make it look as if the checks were legitimate. Over the course of the scheme, Oliver embezzled a total of over $1.1 million.

See the full release

Union Officials Indicted on Federal Embezzlement Charges

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota recently announced that three former union officials were indicted by a federal grand jury on embezzlement charges. The three had used their financial positions at the union to embezzle union funds for personal use.

See the full release here.

Former Patterson-UTI Energy CFO Sentenced to 25 Years Imprisonment for $77 Million Embezzlement

We've followed the ongoing saga of Jonathan D. Nelson, the former CFO of Patterson-UTI Energy who embezzled more than $77 million from the company.

The District Attorney for the Northern District of Texas announced on October 10, 2006 that Nelson was sentenced to a prison term of 25 years after pleading guilty.

Nelson's perpetrated his embezzlement using forged checks, bogus invoices and other schemes.

See the full release here.

Kentucky District Attorney Obtains Guilty Plea on Bank Embezzlement

The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky announced recently that a Florida man had pleaded guilty to embezzling over $42,000 from two Kentucky banks where he had been an employee.

See the full release here.

3 Florida Men Plead Guilty to $35 Million Embezzlement

The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida announced that three defendants, William Scott Deloach, Maria Garcia, and Rosario Licata, have pleaded guilty to charges that they engaged in a long-term scheme to embezzle over $35 million from their former employer, PBSJ Corp.  PBSJ is an employee-owned national engineering and construction firm that provides a myriad of services in transportation, environmental, civil engineering, and construction management.

According to documents filed with the court during the plea hearing, from 1992 to March 2005, defendants Deloach, Garcia, and Licata, formerly senior financial executives at PBSJ, embezzled millions of dollars from the company via schemes involving the issuance of millions of dollars in unauthorized checks or transfers written on PBSJ accounts.

See the full release here.

Comerica Bank Manager Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan announced recently that a Comerica assistant bank manager has plead guilty to embezzling over $360,000 from bank accounts belonging to his elderly and deceased clients. The manager stole the money by closing or depleting CD and IRA accounts belonging to the victims, without their knowledge, and then depositing the funds into his personal account. The manager then attempted to conceal his fraud by forging withdrawal slips and destroying bank surveillance tapes.

See the full release here (PDF)

U.S Attorney in Wisconsin Announces Embezzlement Indictments

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin recently announced 4 indictments arising from embezzlement at Milwaukee-area banks, including a former employee at M&I Trust Company in Milwaukee, charged with stealing $31, 985 from a customer 401(k) account; a former bank teller, accused of embezzling $16,900 from M&I Bank through false account entries; a former supervisor at Metavante Corporation, a subsidiary of M&I Bank, charged with wrongfully obtaining $27,675 by stealing checks intended for a clearing system at Metavante; and a former bank teller at TCF Bank in Milwaukee, accused of embezzling $22,972 through fraudulent ledger entries.

See the full release here (PDF).

Pennsylvania Man Charged With Embezzling over $733,000 From Wachovia

United States Attorney Patrick L. Meehan of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently announced the filing of an indictment against Dean Henry Smith charging that he embezzled over $733,000 between 2003 and June 9, 2006, while an employee of Wachovia’s Institutional Trust Services Department.

See the indictment here and the release here.

Former President of Labor Union Sentenced for Embezzling Funds

The United States Attorney for the Western District of New York, recently announced that Lynn R. Lanphear, age 63, of Pittsford, New York, was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $9,441.29 in connection with his guilty plea on June 12, 2006, to embezzlement from a labor union.

See the full release here (PDF).

Former College Summit Employee pleads guilty to making over $45,000 in unauthorized charges to corporate credit card

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia recently announced that Joyce R. Williams, 40, of Largo, MD, formerly employed by College Summit’s National Headquarters, pleaded guilty to unauthorized charging of airplane tickets, hotel stays, meals, clothing, electronics, concert tickets, jewelry, fuel and bills to a corporate credit card.

See the full release here.

Former Georgetown University Employee Charged With Embezzling Over $300,000 From University

Kenneth Wainstein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, announced recently that a federal grand jury has indicted a former Georgetown University employee, Pedro Paulo dos Santos, on charges of defrauding the University and Riggs Bank of more than $300,000.

According to the indictment, dos Santos had worked from 1998 until March 2005 at Georgetown. In his most recent position as a director of Georgetown’s Brazilian Studies program, he became familiar with the paperwork and authorizations required for vendors to obtain compensation for their services. The indictment further alleges that between September 2001 to February 2005, dos Santos developed and engaged in a scheme by which he would cause to be written, signed and issued, checks to a fictitious lecturer purportedly for consulting services. Dos Santos created invoices in the name of a fictitious vendor for consulting and guest lecturing services purportedly performed on behalf of the Brazilian Studies Program. To further justify fraudulent payments from Georgetown, dos Santos completed forged expense vouchers that he submitted together with the fake invoices to the Georgetown accounts payable department. After processing these invoices and vouchers, the accounts payable department issued checks as payment for services purportedly performed on behalf of Georgetown. These checks were either picked up by dos Santos from the accounts payable department or sent via U.S. mail to an address dos Santos had designated on the vouchers. dos Santos gained control of the funds by depositing the Georgetown checks directly into one or more of his personal bank accounts. dos Santos also attempted to disguise the illegal source of the stolen money by having one or more individuals deposit some of the checks in other bank accounts. This individual or individuals subsequently withdrew the funds and disbursed these funds to dos Santos in the form of cash or checks.

Ultimately, the scheme allegedly netted dos Santos in excess of $310,000.

See the full release here.

Former Accounting Manager at Minnesota Restaurant Sentenced for Embezzlement

Jennifer Rosvold, a former accounting manager for Damon’s Restaurants, a Twin Cities restaurant chain, was sentenced recently to 24 months in prison for stealing from her employer, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota. Rosvold was also ordered to pay $425,920 in restitution to the owners of Damon’s Restaurants.

Rosvold began embezzling money from Damon’s Restaurants in March of 2002, and continued until the restaurant chain went out of business and ceased operations in March of 2005. Rosvold stole money by preparing and issuing checks payable to herself. She also forged the signature of other employees on some of the checks. After obtaining the fraudulent checks, Rosvold deposited them into her personal bank accounts, and, on other occasions, simply cashed the checks. She used the stolen funds for gambling, mortgage payments, cars, and household expenses.

See full release here.

Accountant Gets Jail Time for Embezzling Funds from Clients

United States Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan of the Western District of Pennsylvania announced recently that Walter M. Tymoczko, a resident of Pittsburgh, had been sentenced to two years incarceration and ordered to pay $255,424.60 in restitution on his conviction of uttering and possessing a forged security of an organization.

According to information presented to the court, during the period of February 2003 through July 2004, Tymoczko, while working as an outside accountant for various individuals and businesses, forged checks and otherwise directed clients' funds to his own use without authorization.  Testimony from victims at the sentencing revealed that Tymoczko's embezzlement crippled the finances of one non-profit (including loss of grants and likely tax penalties), and drove another business to financial ruin.

See full release here.

Lawyer Embezzled Funds of Elderly Clients

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Kenneth Wainstein, announced recently that former lawyer, Reginald Jerome Rogers, has been found guilty of mail fraud involving a scheme to defraud elderly clients.

According to the evidence at trial, Rogers practiced law from his home office in Bowie, Maryland, and handled the financial affairs of elderly clients and their estates in the Washington area. He designated several elderly women clients as his “priority” clients for whom he not only performed legal work, but also did household chores such as grocery shopping and running errands for these clients. By performing these household chores, the defendant gained his clients’ trust and induced them to turn over control of their finances to him as their fiduciary. After obtaining unlimited control over the clients’ financial assets, the defendant unlawfully diverted money from their accounts to his own for his own personal gain without their knowledge and consent. Rogers also transferred funds between the elderly clients’ accounts to conceal his diversions, and concealed his scheme by making false statements to elderly clients regarding the status of their funds and property.

See full release here.

Former bank manager sentenced to 41 months in prison for embezzling over $2 million

The United States Attorney for the District of Nevada announced recently that a former manager for an HSBC branch in Las Vegas, Michelle Fournier, has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for her guilty plea to embezzling over $2 million from the bank during 2004.

Part of Fournier's job duties included approving vendor invoices. In order to make money for herself, she created a fictitious company, RMS Business Consulting (RMS), solely for the purpose of defrauding HSBC. RMS had no legitimate business purpose and was used to further Fournier's scheme to defraud. The corporate office was actually a mail box rented in Fournier's name at a UPS store. Fournier then created fictitious invoices stating that RMS had performed certain services, and submitted them to HSBC for payment. Fournier forged her manager’s signature authorizing payment to RMS, and HSBC electronically deposited payments into an RMS bank account or mailed the checks to RMS. Fournier then withdrew the funds from the bank account for her own personal use.

See the full release here.

Former Non-Profit Director Sentenced for embezzling $250,000 in government benefits

The United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota announced yesterday that Sue Linehan, a former Program Director of Rainbow, R.P. Inc., a non-profit agency that assisted vulnerable people in paying their bills and taxes, was sentenced to 45 months in prison for embezzling approximately $250,000 in government benefits from her clients.

According to court documents, as director of Rainbow R.P. Inc., Linehan was entrusted by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Veterans Administration (VA) to manage money for those who could not do this for themselves. Linehan was suppose to pay clients’s bills on time and provide the rest to them for spending money. As part of her duties as a fiduciary for the SSA and the VA, Linehan was allowed to keep an administrative fee, approximately $30 per beneficiary per month, for her services. However, from January of 2001, and continuing until December of 2003, Linehan stole SSA benefits and VA benefits belonging to clients for her personal benefit. She used the money to pay for vacations and help her family start a restaurant. In what the government contended was an attempt to conceal her embezzlement, Linehan moved government benefits she received into and out of 12 different bank accounts. When clients complained, she would over-pay that person in an attempt to keep them quiet.

Linehan’s clients, which included those who had suffered from strokes, those who were in nursing homes, and those who suffered from mental or chemical health issues, were severely impacted by her theft of government benefits. Some clients had prescriptions stopped, some had their telephone and cable services disconnected, at least one lost their home due to foreclosure, and another had their vehicle repossessed.

See the full release here.

Son of Picatinny Arsenal Employee Admits Using Mom's Government Credit Card to Embezzle

The son of a former manager at Picatinny Arsenal pleaded guilty today in federal court, admitting that he used his mother’s government-issued credit card to purchase miscellaneous unauthorized items including, emergency equipment, digital cameras, and approximately $6,000 to $7,000 worth of gift cards for his personal use. Peterson also admitted that he did not have authority from the U.S. Army to use the credit card.

See full release here.

Former Director of Marketing Sentenced to 21 Months in Prison for Embezzling $246,000

United States Attorney Kevin V. Ryan announced in late June that Michael Fox, 43, of Mill Valley, California, was sentenced to twenty-one months in prison, and ordered to pay $246,832 in restitution for defrauding his former employer, CPP, Inc., a business consulting organization in Mountain View. According to the plea agreement and complaint filed by the FBI, Mr. Fox, who was Director of Marketing at CPP, Inc., created a fictitious company named Spotted Cow. After setting up a Spotted Cow website, the defendant opened up a business bank account, and arranged for a business address through a private mailbox service. On his home computer and personal laptop, Fox created fictitious invoices showing that Spotted Cow had performed advertising services for CPP Inc. In his managerial position at CPP, Fox authorized the invoices for payment. CPP paid over $216,000 to Fox for services that were never performed, and he used the funds for personal expenses.

See the full release here.

Virginia Woman Charged With Embezzling Funds From AIDS Charity

United States Attorney John L. Brownlee for the Western District of Virginia announced recently that Nancy Stewart was charged with allegedly defrauding AIDS Response Effort, Inc. ("ARE"), a non-profit service organization in Winchester, Virginia.

ARE established a program to identify individuals who are at high risk of being infected with HIV/AIDS and individuals who are infected but are unaware of it. The individuals are asked to provide a saliva sample in order to determine whether they are infected. Individuals are also asked to provide information to ARE on a Risk Assessment Questionnaire, which is signed by the individual, certifying the truth of the information on the form.

ARE employees are encouraged to find high risk individuals and are given the opportunity to earn a bonus for each questionnaire completed and each saliva sample obtained. The Grand Jury alleged that between June 1, 2003 and December 31, 2003, Stewart submitted 91 Risk Assessment Questionnaires for fictitious individuals. According to the indictment, Stewart would complete the questionnaire herself and then provided a swab of her own saliva for testing. She received a bonus for each questionnaire and saliva sample submitted.

See full release here.

New York Man Arraigned for Allegedly Embezzling Union Funds

The United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York recently announced that James G. Russell was arraigned in federal court on charges of allegedly embezzling $54,000 in union funds while acting as secretary- treasurer of Stage and Picture Operators Local Union 9 in Syracuse, New York. During his court appearance, the defendant pled not guilty.

See the full release here.

Silicon Valley Bank Manager Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of California announced last week that Rose Magpantay Valdez pleaded guilty on July 12, 2006, to bank embezzlement in connection with a scheme to steal bank funds for her own personal use by exploiting a weakness in the bank's security systems.

Briefly, because Ms. Valdez served as a bank manager, she had access to the bank’s general ledger accounts and the authority to move monies from one general ledger account to another, with the approval and initials of one of several other authorized bank employees. Ms. Valdez stole funds by filling out debit and credit slips that reflected that monies were being transferred from one general ledger account to another pursuant to bank business. Ms. Valdez would then illegibly scribble fictitious names on the slips, initial the slips, and submit them to another authorized bank employee to approve and initial. The employee would return the slips to Ms. Valdez, who would replace the deposit slips with her own slips in the same dollar amount. Ms. Valdez admitted to using odd dollar amounts so as not to arouse suspicion.

See the District Attorney's release here.

Former Spa Bookkeeper Arrested for Embezzlement

Ruth C. Fallis, the former bookkeeper for the Perry Anthony Design Group, a salon/day spa in Pike Creek, Delaware, was arrested Friday morning for her alleged role in embezzling in excess of $1,000,000 from the company, announced the United States Attorney for the District of Delaware.

As the affidavit attached to the criminal complaint describes, between December 2001 and October 2005, Fallis, who had been the bookkeeper for the Perry Anthony Design Group since 1991, embezzled money from the salon/day spa in at least two ways: by forging checks totaling over $500,000 from the company’s account to herself and to companies/vendors to whom she owed money for personal expenses such as credit card purchases and home improvements; and by stealing more than $500,000 of cash receipts that she was responsible for depositing into the company account. In order to hide the theft, in 2002, Fallis stopped making the quarterly federal tax deposits on behalf of the Perry Anthony Design Group and diverted calls and notices from the IRS to herself, so that the owner would remain unaware of the scheme.

A lesson in this sad tale for small businesses - do not repose exclusive responsibility for important financial matters in one person without checks and balances to detect wrongdoing.

See the full release here. (PDF)

South Dakota Man Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota announced that Larry Schoenbeck pled guilty to an indictment which charged him with embezzling approximately $14,250 from a credit union. The maximum penalty upon conviction is 30 years imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine.  Sentencing is set for October.

See the full release here.

Broker Embezzles from Father-in-Law

The White Collar Crime Prof Blog posted yesterday on the guilty plea of a Merrill Lynch broker who stole $420,000 from his father-in-law's account. The guilty plea was reported in a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut. As Professor Henning notes, the next family gathering is certainly going to be interesting.

See the post here.

Former Newark Bank Loan Officer Admits Embezzling $1.1 Million

The U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey recently announced that a former loan officer at Independence Community Bank ("ICB"), Pamela Cruz, pleaded guilty to a one-count Information charging her with embezzling approximately $1.1 million from her former employer. Cruz's scheme involved the transfer of funds into two dormant customer accounts that ICB has acquired in a merger, and subsequently transfer of the embezzled funds from those accounts into other ICB accounts that she controlled. Since Cruz was responsible for the reconciliation of internal ICB general ledger accounts at the end of each month, Cruz was able to adjust month-end reconciliations of such accounts to conceal her unauthorized transfers.

See the full release here.

Past Company President and CFO Indicted on Charges Arising Out of $850K Embezzlement

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California recently announced that Peggy Kaye Witts, 59, of Redding, California, has been charged in an indictment with mail fraud, wire fraud, false filing of a pension plan document, money laundering, tax evasion and forfeiture of her house in Redding arising out of her alleged embezzlement of over $850,000 from the Voorwood Company, Inc., of which she was President and Chief Financial Officer. The indictment charges that Witts allegedly issued duplicate paychecks to herself for over four years and other checks to family members.

See the full release here.

Ohio Man Sentenced Based on Embezzlement Plea

Gregory A. White, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced yesterday that John D. Chiappetta, of Richmond Heights, Ohio, was sentenced to 38 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release, based on his previous guilty pleas to, among other things, two counts of embezzlement from a health care benefit plan sponsored by his now-defunct company, Euclid & Wickliffe Services, Inc (“E&W”).  E&W was a custom sheet metal fabricating company based in Eastlake, Ohio. Chiappetta admitted that from approximately January 1 through June 4, 2001, he embezzled $29,137.50 of health care premiums withheld from the payroll of 90 employees and $2,199.33 of COBRA premiums paid by two former employees health care premiums by causing E&W to make substantial expenditures for his personal benefit and for other E&W business purposes, while at the same time failing to make timely payments of those withheld and COBRA premiums.

See the full release here.

Former Boeing Director Sentenced for Improper Expense Card Charges

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri announced last week that Robert D. Rice, former Boeing Director of Supply Chain Management, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison this morning for using Boeing expense cards to make personal purchases that included a $52,000 BMW automobile. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $299,382.69, which he paid this morning at sentencing.

The embezzlement scheme involved a second employee, Lisa J. Hernandez. Hernandez would use the expense cards to make the purchases (which included an automobile, artwork, jewelry, home improvement items and vacations totaling more than $299,382), and then submit the expenses to Rice for his approval and submission for payment to Boeing. In order to further facilitate this scheme, Rice created a shell company in Nevada called Leantraining. Rice would approve purchases by Boeing to Leantraining for “training materials.”

See the full release here.

Bank Employee Arrested for Embezzling Checks

Ursula Nicole Moore, an employee of Bank of America, pled not guilty earlier this week at an arraignment to charges that she stole approximately $30,000 in money orders and checks from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Lockbox operation at Bank of America, in Richardson, Texas.

According to the affidavit filed with the criminal complaint in this case, from February 22, 2006 to April 17, 2006, Moore embezzled nearly $30,000 in money orders and checks made payable to the IRS from the IRS lockbox. On May 24, 2006, she opened an account at the Wells Fargo Bank at Abrams Road and Skillman Street in Dallas. Moore altered the checks she had stolen from the IRS Lockbox and deposited those checks into this Wells Fargo bank account, and then used the funds for her personal benefit.

See the full release here.

Bank manager Charged With Embezzling $650,000

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts announced last week that a former bank branch manager was charged in federal court with misapplication and embezzlement of more than $650,000 from the Hudson Savings Bank. Among other schemes, the accused allegedly withdrew funds from existing customers’ deposit accounts and from active or inactive home equity lines of credit, and he also created false accounts from which he withdrew funds. The accused is alleged to have avoided detection of his actions by repaying credit lines from other customers’ accounts, taking steps to prevent customers from receiving account statements for periods of time, creating false loan statements which were sent to customers, and changing the mailing addresses on loan accounts to addresses controlled by him.

See the full release here.

Pennsylvania Attorney Indicted for Embezzlement

Pennsylvania attorney Michael Kasprenski was indicted for allegedly embezzling over $1.5 million from the decedent estates of his clients according to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania here. Credit to the White Collar Crime Prof Blog for posting about this development here. The indictment was also report here on Law.com

Former Investment Executive Sentenced for Stealing From Elderly Client

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota reported last Thursday that a former investment executive for a central Minnesota financial services company was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis for stealing $410,000 from an elderly client. Kevin John Davis, age 32, from Sartell, Minnesota, was sentenced to 30 months in prison.  See the full release here.

Miami Attorney Indicated for Embezzling At Least $13.5 Million of Client Money

The White Collar Crime Blog posted this morning on the indictment of Louis Robles, a prominent class action and mass tort attorney, in the Southern District of Florida on 41 counts of mail fraud for misappropriating $13.5 million from clients who received settlements in asbestos litigation.  See post here.  The indictment was announced in a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

Former Financial Executive at Inter-American Development Bank sentenced for embezzling more than $400,000

The U.S.  Attorney for the District of Columbia announced Tuesday that Otto Antonio Gutierrez, Jr., the former Chief Administrative Accountant for the Inter-American Development Bank (“IDB”), has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for embezzling more than $400,000 while working for the IDB.  The IDB is a public international organization whose shareholders are the governments of 47 countries, including the United States of America. The IDB’s purpose is to contribute to the acceleration of economic and social development of its regional developing member countries. The IDB relies upon public and private investors to fund its projects through the issuance of interest bearing bonds.

In his position as Chief Administrative Accountant, Gutierrez oversaw the yearly payment of more than $100 million in administrative expenses and supervised as many as 20 other individuals. His embezzlement scheme involved creating fictitious vendor invoices and directing payment into accounts that he controlled.

See the full release here.

Former SunTrust Bank employee pleads guilty to stealing $70,000 to pay for her gambling habit

Michelle L. Newman, a former employee for SunTrust Bank, has pleaded guilty to bank theft in connection with the theft of approximately $70,000 from the bank, United States Attorney Kenneth L. Wainstein and Joseph Persichini, Jr., Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, announced today.  Newman acknowledged that she worked at SunTrust Bank in the Wealth Management Division until July 2005. It was in July of 2005, when officials at SunTrust became concerned about general ledger entries made by Newman for alleged client functions and expenses or supplies that reportedly had been requested by specific team leaders and approved by Newman’s supervisors. The SunTrust officials noted that a number of ledger entries for the debit ticket to pay these expenses made during the first six months of 2005 had forged signatures authorizing payments and that the offsetting credit ticket for each entry was deposited into Newman’s personal checking account.

See the full release here.

Secretary to Air Force Chief of Chaplains pleads guilty to embezzling over $130,000

United States Attorney Kenneth L. Wainstein for the District of Columbia announced last Thursday that Maria R. Hartline, who served as a secretary to the Air Force Chief of Chaplains at Bolling Air Force Base, has pled guilty to embezzling over $131,706.26 from the U.S. Treasury through a variety of fraudulent schemes, including: submitting fraudulent claims for overtime; fraudulently claiming to be working while taking annual leave; fraudulently using a government credit card for personal expenditures; and fraudulently submitting voucher payment requests for personal trips. Hartline was able to accomplish her schemes in large part by using her coworkers’ and supervisors’ computer passwords to avoid receiving necessary approval for overtime and travel claims. See the full release here.

Former Boys and Girls Club Director Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

Bradley J. Schlozman, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that the former director of the Boys and Girls Club in Joplin, Mo., pleaded guilty in federal court on May 12th to embezzling more than $443,000 from the organization. See the full release here.

Pennsylvania Union Official Indicated for Embezzling Funds

United States Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan for the Western District of Pennsylvania announced yesterday that Lawrence McGown, a resident of New Brighton, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of embezzling funds from a labor organization. Among other things, the indictment charged that McGown made unauthorized charges for personal use on the union's America Express credit card that was to be used solely for legitimate union business purposes. See the full release here.

Patterson-UTI Energy Embezzlement Saga Ends With Guilty Plea by Nelson

The District Attorney for the Northern Disrict of Texas announced on April 27, 2006 that Jonathan Nelson, former Chief Financial Officer of Patterson-UTI Energy (nation’s second-largest onshore oil drilling provider) has pleaded guilty to the charges against him and admitted in court documents that from January 1998 until November 2005, using various schemes, he embezzled approximately $77,787,649.97 from Patterson-UTI. In additional to restitution, Nelson, age 36, faces a maximum statutory sentence of 30 years imprisonment and a $500,000 fine. See the press release here, including extensive details about Nelson's various schemes, which involved falsifying financial records, forging signatures, and bogus invoices.

FORMER BANK TELLERS CHARGED WITH EMBEZZLEMENT

United States Attorney John L. Brownlee for the Western District of Virginia announced last week that two former tellers at BB&T bank have been charged with embezzlement. See details here.

Former George Washington University employee pleads guilty to embezzling more than $75,000

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia announced last week that a former George Washington University employee, Renee A. Langley, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with her embezzlement of over $75,000 from the University. The scheme involving issuing cashier checks to related businesses and family members, and unauthorized use of a University-issued credit card and phone card. See the full release here.

Former Bank Vice President Sentenced for Embezzlement

The U.S Attorney for the District of Minnesota announced last week that David Ross Slominski, former vice president of Wells Fargo Bank in Lakeville, Minnesota, was sentenced to 48 months in prison and 5 years supervised release in connection with an embezzlement scheme that involved creating millions of dollars in fictitious loans and a Ponzi scheme to cover up his misconduct. Read the full release here.

Kansas Bank Manager Sentenced in Embezzlement Case

The District Attorney for the District of Kansas announced today that a Kansas man who managed a bank in Overland Park has been sentenced to a year in federal prison after pleading guilty to embezzlement.  The defendant withdrew money from a certificate of deposit owned by a family trust, converted the money to cashier’s checks and deposited it another account in his father-in-law’s name. Neither the representatives of the family trust nor Williams’ father-in-law was aware of what he was doing.  See the full release here.

Chief Financial Officer Indicted for Embezzlement

Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced earlier this week the unsealing of an indictment following the recent arrest of Jennifer Lee Ann Pleacher. Pleacher is named in a seventeen-count indictment for violating 18 U.S.C.§ 1343 (Wire Fraud); 18 U.S.C.§ 1957(a)(Engaging in Unlawful Monetary Transactions); and 18 U.S.C.§1030(a)(4)(Fraud Through the Use of Computers). If convicted on all counts,Pleacher faces a statutory maximum of 315 years in prison, coupled with $4,250,000 in fines and full restitution to the targeted victim. The indictment charges that from on or about January 2,2003, through on or about January 7, 2005, Pleacher used her CFO position at Vogel Lubrication, Inc. of Newport News, Virgina, to secretly embezzle approximately $518,414.33 from Vogel’s financial accounts for her own use and benefit. See the full release here.

Pennsylvania Broker Indicted for Embezzlement

United States Attorney Patrick L. Meehan for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently announced the filing of an indictment against David A. DeBlasio charging that while a broker at  PNC Investments, a subsidiary of PNC bank, DeBlasio diverted customer funds for his own personal use. See the full release here.

Bookkeeper convicted of embezzling more than $70,000 from two D.C. charities and one small business

A bookkeeper for several local charities and businesses has been found guilty by a federal jury in Washington, D.C., of stealing more than $70,000, announced United States Attorney Kenneth L. Wainstein for the District of Columbia on April 3, 2006. According to the evidence presented at trial, from 1998 to 2003, Gwendolyn Tann obtained employment from three different employers in the District of Columbia. Once on the job, Tann gained the trust of her employers and access to the company checkbooks. Tann used her position of trust to enrich herself. See the full release here.

Salvation Army Manager arrested today for embezzling money

The District Attorney for the District of New Jersey recently announced that a former financial manager at the Salvation Army, Leroy Brown, has been charged with embezzling approximately $385,760 from the Salvation Army that was intended to provide rental assistance to persons with low income. Brown has pleaded guilty. See the full release here. The release was originally picked up by the White Collar Crime Prof Blog here.

Former Branch Manager of Title Company Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $140,000

Carol J. Black, former manager of the Arnold, Missouri, branch of Capital Title, pled guilty on March 9, 2006 to charges involving the embezzlement of $140,000, announced United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway for the Eastern District of Missouri.

According to court documents, between September 2001 and December 31, 2004, Black wrote a series of Capital Title checks totaling $140,000 to one of her relatives who had nothing to do with the business of Capital Title. To make these checks appear legitimate, Black included a reference to a specific property on which construction loan proceeds were being disbursed in the memo portion of the checks. She then forged the signatures of other employees who also had signature authority on accounts maintained by Capital Title. Black admitted with her plea that she deposited most of the checks into a joint account that she and the relative shared. Over the course of the scheme Black wrote checks totaling over $5,000 to pay creditors located outside of Missouri. See the full release here.

Former 49er Wersching indicted for embezzlement

United States Attorney Kevin V. Ryan for the Northen District of California announced last week that Raimund Wersching, 55, of San Carlos, California, was charged in a six-count indictment with insurance fraud, tax evasion, and hiring a convicted felon to handle the insurance business at his agency, including the deposit and transfer of premium money. The indictment, which was returned by a grand jury on March 22, 2006, alleges that between 1997 and 2000, Mr. Wersching embezzled and misappropriated over $8 million in premiums that should have been paid to the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies. He is also charged with evading taxes on $3.6 million in corporate income for 1999 and 2000.

For those who don't follow football, Wersching was a kicker for 15 years in the NFL, including winning two Super Bowls with the San Francisco Forty-Niners.  He tied the record for most field goals in a Super Bowl with four in Super Bowl XVI, when the Niners won 26-21 over the Bengals. 

For news coverage of Wersching's indictment, see here.

For coverage of the indictment in the White Collar Crime Prof Blog, see here.

Former Union Benefits Administrator Charged With Embezzling Union Funds

United States Attorney Patrick L. Meehan from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced last week the filing of an information charging defendant Kevin Kulp, the former vice president and benefit funds administrator of Iron Workers Local 161 (the Riggers), with embezzlement from an employee benefit plan. It is alleged that from December 2000 to October 2002, the defendant issued additional unauthorized salary checks to himself from Local 161's Annuity Fund in the amount of approximately $21,888.

Click here for the full information (PDF).

Baltimore Woman Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Wire Fraud in Embezzlement Scheme

United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein announced that March 9th U.S. District Judge Andre M. Davis sentenced Roberta A. Moore, age 38, of Baltimore to 2 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for wire fraud. Judge Davis also ordered Moore to pay over $317,000 in restitution.

According to the statement of facts presented at her guilty plea, Roberta A. Moore worked for Aether Systems, Inc. in the Accounts Payable Department as Accounts Payable Administrator between January 15, 2001 and June 4, 2002. Moore abused her position to write numerous checks from Aether Systems and deposit them in her personal account.

See the full release here.

Former Bank Employee Admits Embezzlement

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio announced recently that Carmen D. Torres-Colston, age 38, of Columbus pled guilty in United States District Court to embezzling $1,129,250.17 from her employer. According to a statement of facts filed with her plea, Torres-Colson managed the Great Southern branch of U.S. Bank between February 13, 1998 and March 17, 2003. During that period, she opened 34 installment loans, four lines of credit and two credit cards by falsifying application documents and using her own name and the identities of nine people, including family members, who weren’t aware of her actions. In order to obtain the majority of these loans, Torres-Colston listed collateral that did not exist, inflated income amounts, forged signatures, and listed her own prior employment on some loans to herself to disguise the fact that she was, at that time, an employee of U.S. Bank. See the full release here.

Wife of Former Township Treasurer Sentenced After Admitting Embezzlement

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas recently issued a release stating that Shelley Ausherman was sentenced to 5 months in federal prison, followed by 5 months confinement in a halfway house, and ordered to pay $126,755 in restitution to the township. In her plea, Ausherman admitted that from Oct. 1, 2002, to Dec. 6, 2004, she assisted her husband in his duties as township treasurer. Intending to defraud the township, she prepared checks drawn on the township’s bank account to an entity she controlled and deposited them into the entity's account. When the checks cleared the bank and were returned to the township, she attempted to conceal the crime by changing the name of the payee from her company to other entities that routinely provided goods and services to the township. See the full release here.

Law Firm Bookkeeper Charged With Embezzlement

Kevin J. O’Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, recently announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Hartford has returned an eight-count Indictment charging TONI AMBROGIO, also known as TONI LIBERA, age 45, of 77 Cedar Street, Wethersfield, Connecticut, with mail fraud and wire fraud related to her alleged embezzlement of more than $80,000 from her employer.

According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, between November 2003 and February 2005, AMBROGIO was employed as a bookkeeper for a law office in Hartford. Between February 2004 and February 2005, AMBROGIO is alleged to have embezzled $81,485.86 from the employer through telephone transfers from the firm’s operating account to AMBROGIO’s personal credit card accounts, the unauthorized identification of herself as payee on firm checks, and concealing the embezzlement through recording the issuance of the fraudulent checks and transfers as payments to firm vendors, employees and independent contractors.

See the full press release here.

Indiana Woman Sentenced for Credit Union Embezzlement

Susan W. Brooks, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, announced that CRYSTAL BOTTOMLEY, 24, of Connersville, Indiana, was sentenced to 3 months imprisonment today by Chief U.S. District Judge Larry J. McKinney following her guilty plea to embezzlement by a credit union employee. BOTTOMLEY was employed as a teller at the Connersville branch of the NATCO Credit Union from July 2003 until October 2004. Between August 2004 and October 2004, BOTTOMLEY embezzled over $30,000.00 from the credit union by accessing customers’ accounts without authorization, withdrawing money, and forging customers’ signatures to bank documents to accomplish the embezzlement.

See the press release here.

Postal Workers Union Officials Arrested for Embezzlement

Two union officials were arrested recently on a three-count Indictment charging them in an embezzlement scheme that victimized Local 190 of the American Postal Workers Union in Clifton, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie for the District of New Jersey recently announced.

Former UFCW labor leaders sentenced for embezzlement from union

Bill Leone, United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, recently announced that STEPHEN L. BUSH, age 29, of Greeley, and his father, RONALD BUSH, age 59, of Greeley, were both sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn for embezzling money from the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 990. STEPHEN BUSH, a former business agent for UFCW Local 990, was ordered to serve 5 years of probation, with the first 6 months in home detention with electronic monitoring, and pay $20,385.98 in restitution to the labor union. RONALD BUSH, a former President of UFCW Local 990, was also ordered to serve 5 years of probation, with the first 6 months in home detention with electronic monitoring, and pay $4,457.00 in restitution.

See the full release here.