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Thursday, July 26, 2012

Indian Trail Woman Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Wire Fraud and Filing a False Tax Returns in North Carolina

FROM 7THSPACE.COM -

An Indian Trail woman charged with wire fraud and filing a false tax return was sentenced today to serve 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release following incarceration, announced Anne M Tompkins, United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. United States District Court Judge Max O Cogburn, Jr also ordered the defendant to make restitution payments of $727,584 to victim Yamauchi Corporation and $203,725 to the IRS.




United States Attorney Tompkins is joined in making today’s announcement by Jeannine A Hammett, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI), and Chris Briese, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division.



In June 2011, Beth Ann Cox, 51, of Indian Trail, NC. was charged with and pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false income tax return. According to court documents, from 2003 to 2009 Cox engaged in a scheme to defraud her employer, Yamauchi Corporation (“Yamauchi”), where she was employed as an administrative assistant.



Court documents indicate that Cox had full access to Yamauchi’s operating company bank account and handled payroll transactions and money transfers for the company.



Court records indicate that beginning in July 2003, Cox used her access to Yamauchi’s bank account to make unauthorized wire transfers from the company’s account to pay off balances on her personal lines of credit. Those unauthorized wire transfers totaled over $447,000. In addition to the wire transfers, Cox forged company checks made out to her name and, in turn, falsely logged the fraudulent checks as commissions, bonuses, or tuition payments. The forged checks totaled $270,937 payable to Cox.



As part of her plea agreement, Cox has admitted that at no time was she authorized to make those wire transfers or issue those checks. According to court documents and today’s sentencing proceedings, Cox received at least $727,570 from the fraudulent scheme; however, the tax returns Cox filed for the relevant time period did not reflect that additional income.



“Corporate fraud and embezzlement have devastating effects on the financial health of the victim companies. Individuals engaged in such conduct undermine the livelihood of working families in our community. My office is committed to holding these individuals accountable for this serious crime,” said United States Attorney Tompkins.



“Ms.Cox embezzled funds from her employer and then tried to hide the income from the IRS,” said IRS Special Agent in Charge Hammett. “People who attempt to hide income can and will be prosecuted.”



Cox will be allowed to self-report to begin service of her prison term once the Federal Bureau of Prisons has designated a federal facility where she will serve her sentence. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.



The investigation was handled by IRS and FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark T Odulio of the United States Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.

MN Woman Charged with Embezzling Funds from Minnwest Bank

FROM TCBBLOG.COM -

A Minnesota woman is facing federal charges for allegedly embezzling “hundreds of thousands of dollars” from the bank where she worked, Minnesota’s U.S. Attorney’s office said Tuesday.


Barbara Kaye Rechtzigel, a 47-year-old woman from the southwestern Minnesota town of Belview, is accused of stealing funds from the certificate of deposit (CD) accounts of customers of Minnwest Bank in Marshall.


Rechtzigel is accused of stealing customers’ money over the course of more than a decade—1998 through June 2012—for her personal use. Court documents state that she’s accused of stealing “hundreds of thousands” of dollars; U.S. Attorney’s office spokeswoman Jeanne Cooney said Wednesday that investigators are still compiling evidence to calculate the exact amount of money that Rechtzigel allegedly embezzled, so the office is unable to provide a more specific dollar amount at this time.

Rechtzigel faces one count of embezzlement by a bank officer, and she was charged via information, which generally indicates that a plea agreement is expected. She faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Youngstown woman indicted on embezzlement by bank employee in Ohio

A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Danielle Ladigo, age 28, of Youngstown, Ohio, with one count of theft, embezzlement, or misapplication by bank officer or employee, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.


The indictment charges that from January 2008 through December 2009, Danielle Ladigo, an employee of Huntington National Bank, embezzled moneys belonging to Huntington National Bank in an amount greater than $1,000, the deposits of which were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, by taking cash while loading the bank’s cash dispensing machines (CDMs).

The indictment was presented to the grand jury by Assistant United States Attorney Christos N. Georgalis after an investigation by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.