Female Embezzlement On The Rise

As reported on the FraudTalk Blog, female embezzlement's on the rise as a growing problem in America that can't be ignored.  Employers need to watch their accounting people especially.  Anyone who handles a business's finances should be audited once a year.  Marquet International that conducts studies on embezzlement states many of these women are simply greedy.

Virginia Woman Sentenced for $100K Embezzlement of Child Development Center

Mary Beth Lloyd, 41, of Richmond, Virginia, was sentenced to 16 months in prison for embezzling $98,156 from the Grace Covenant Child Development Center where she had been employed as director. Lloyd was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $136,396.34. According to prosecutors, Lloyd's scheme spanned a five month period between December 1, 2009 and May 1, 2010. Lloyd reportedly told parents to make tuition checks out in her name, falsely claiming as a director, she had a development center account as such. Lloyd deposited those checks directly into her own personal accounts. Read the story here and here.

Pennsylvania Woman Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison For Embezzling $3.7 Million

Thea Tafner, 56, of Danville, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for embezzling $3.71 million from American Hose and Chemical Fire Company, for which she had served as chairperson. According to authorities, Tafner diverted Medicare payment funds over a period of 9 years, from October 2000 to November 2009, by utilizing a fraudulent account for the company she controlled. Tafner, who was originally charged last December and plead guilty in January, was also ordered to pay $2 million in restitution. Tafner is also the principal of the Line Mountain elementary school. Read the story here and here.


Texas Woman Sentenced to 25 Years For Embezzling More Than $1 Million From Church & Two Charities

 Louanne Aponte, 52, of Austin, Texas, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for embezzling more than $1 million from Family Connections, a child care services non-profit, for which she had served as executive director. She also took funds from the Texas Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies and the Hyde Park Christian Church, where she had served as treasurer, according to prosecutors. When a state audit found that Aponte had falsified records, she reportedly fled to Venezuela in February 2010, but returned six months later when she was arrested. Aponte's now estranged husband, Marco Aponte, 48, was charged with money laundering. According to reports, some $2 million was tracked going into accounts held by the Aponte's over a period of 7 years. Louanne Aponte, formerly known as Louanne Shetter, was twice convicted on embezzlement charges in the 1980s, according to media reports. Read the story here, here and here. Read the DOJ announcement here.

Former Treasurer of Ohio Food Pantry Sentenced in $213K Embezzlement Case

Gayle J. Tatman, 59, of Grove City, Ohio, was sentenced to 2 years in prison for embezzling nearly $213,000 from the Grove City Food Pantry for which she had served as treasurer. According to authorities, Tatman siphoned the funds, amounting to half of the pantry's cash, over a period of 7 years, from May 2002 until April 2009. Tatman's scheme involved forgery of checks and at least four of the organization's bank accounts, including one that was supposed to have been closed out years ago. She plead guilty in a plea agreement in January to one count of bank fraud.  Read the story here, here, here, here and here.

Wisconsin Woman Sentenced For Embezzling $617K

Mary Radiske, 47, of Thiensville, Wisconsin, has been sentenced to 5 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges she embezzling at least $617,432 from the Wisconsin Kitchen Mart where she had been employed as its longtime bookkeeper. According to authorities, over a five year period from 2005 until early 2010, Radiske wrote at least 79 checks from company coffers, made out to her husband, forging the signatures of the owners and depositing them into her own accounts. At her sentencing hearing, Radiske reportedly claimed she stole the money to "keep her husband happy." Randall Radiske, 47, has not been charged in the case and investigators do not believe he had a part in the theft. Randall Radiske has since filed for divorce. Mary Radiske must also pay restitution of $554,000.  Read the story here, here and here.

Tennessee Woman Pleads Guilty To Embezzling Nearly $200K From Realtor Association & Local Business

Deborah T. Flick, 56, formerly of Bristol, Tennessee and now of Clayton, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to charges she embezzled some $157,000 from the Bristol Tennessee-Virginia Association of Realtors, where she had served as an executive and an additional $40,000 from a local interior decorator in an effort to hide the original thefts. According to authorities, Flick routinely charged personal items on the association's credit card over a three year period, from July 2007 through October 2010. Flick was also a part-time secretary for Wes Taylor Interiors in Bristol and issued checks to the association in an effort to cover-up her thefts. As part of her plea agreement, Flick will receive a 9 year sentence and must make restitution.

Read the story here.