A close look at a recent embezzlement case in New Jersey
While each instance of alleged white-collar crime has unique factors, a close look at a specific case can reveal some aspects of the New Jersey legal system. Embezzlement, the fraudulent taking of assets by another person entrusted with those assets, often involves a complex mix of actions.
One case, involving a Bergen County woman, shines some light on motivations and sentencing for this charge.
A multi-year embezzlement scheme
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey issued a press release regarding the sentencing of an individual convicted of embezzlement. The courts sentenced the 55-year-old woman to 21 months in prison. She embezzled money from a guided tour company and also filed false tax returns.
The district judge charged her with one count of wire fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return. The woman worked as an accountant for a New Jersey tour company from 2010 to 2016. In that capacity, she had the authority to cut checks and over several years, along with another company employee, she took hundreds of thousands of dollars from the company.
A requirement to pay restitution
The courts ordered the woman to pay nearly $300,000 back to the company. In addition to the prison time, the judge sentenced the woman to two years of supervised release.
The scheme involved making out checks to actual workers or contractors, but the payments did not correspond to any actual services. The woman and her accomplice then cashed these checks into their accounts. Much of the investigation relied on work done by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. When the woman failed to report her income on her tax return, she also committed tax evasion.