Worker stole over $483,000 from real estate company in yearslong scheme, feds say

While working at a real estate company in Missouri, a woman embezzled over $483,000 from her employer, according to federal authorities.

Now, the 50-year-old Festus woman has been sentenced to three years in prison, according to an Aug. 11 new release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.

“We were obviously disappointed in the length of the sentence and will do what we can to shorten her time of imprisonment,” Richard H. Sindel, the woman’s defense attorney, said in a statement to McClatchy News.

She pleaded guilty earlier this year to three counts of wire fraud, court records show.

In her signed plea agreement, the woman said that she worked for the company in St. Louis County from about September 2017 through December 2020. She handled payroll and had access to the company’s bank account information.

The woman also had the power to complete automated clearing house payments, which the company used to send real estate agents their commission payments, according to court records.

On Jan. 8, 2018, the woman transferred her first ACH payment to herself, authorities said. She continued to do so until Dec. 9, 2020.

Over the course of nearly three years, authorities said the woman transferred over 140 payments to her personal bank accounts. In doing so, she stole $483,037 from her employer, according to the plea agreement.

She used the money at restaurants and toward the purchase of a vehicle, officials said.

The woman has also been ordered to pay $483,037 in restitution and a $10,000 fine.

Festus is about 35 miles south of St. Louis.

This story was originally published August 14, 2023 at 10:55 AM with the headline "Worker stole over $483,000 from real estate company in yearslong scheme, feds say."