State v. Ms. D (DMC No. 13219) – (4 Counts) Felony Embezzlement/Fraud Schemes ($315,237 Misappropriated from Employer) and (1 Count) Felony Theft – Reduced to 1.2 Years in Prison – Maricopa County Superior Court (Case No. CR2015-001338).

Ms. D was a Controller at a local HVAC company. She was responsible to utilize online bill payment software in order to handle the company’s accounts payables. She had used company funds to pay her personal credit card 55 times for a total $262,879. A reconciliation of the books had not been done for three months, and the owner became suspicious.

The owner also noticed that Ms. D was living an extravagant lifestyle for somebody who wasn’t paid very much. The owner had the company’s CPA do a reconciliation, and the Fraud Scheme was discovered. In addition to the 55 credit card payments, it was also discovered that two credit card refunds were posted on Ms. D’s account for a total of $5,048. She also made deposits to her husband’s bank account as fake payroll in an amount of $11,463. She had personal air conditioning units installed in her home for $9,020, and she did not take any deduction for her personal health insurance for an amount of $25,551. Lastly, she had the company pay her childcare costs for approximately $5,000. The total amount of the Fraud was $315,237.

Once Detectives were brought in, Ms. D was questioned and then arrested. She then secured our services. We immediately began combing through all of the financial records in order to verify whether these claims were true. We also began making arrangements for Ms. D to secure funds in order to attempt to make as much restitution as possible. We dealt with the Prosecutor and the victim’s attorney, and we explained Ms. D’s history and other mitigating factors. Ultimately, we secured an offer of probation with 1.2 years in prison. If Ms. D were originally convicted on all 5 charges, which occurred on multiple dates, she could have been sentenced up to 62.5 years in prison. She successfully completed her brief prison time and her family is still intact.