Outrageous Embezzlement Scheme
Lori V. Whitaker, of Carlsbad, New Mexico, enters a guilty plea in federal court to a wire fraud charge. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Whitaker must pay $816,630.36 in restitution to her former employer, the victim of her crime. Whitaker also faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment for the embezzlement scheme.
Whitaker perpetrates the scheme to defraud her former employer, the Otis Mutual Domestic Water Consumers and Sewage Works Association. She does so over a two-year period, to the tune of approximately $800,000.00. The indictment charges Whitaker with 75 counts of wire fraud and alleges that she fraudulently transmits funds as part of a scheme to defraud the Association. The funds for the 75 fraudulent transactions range from over $400 to almost $16,000.
According to the indictment, Whitaker is an employee of the Association, a non-profit special purpose government association that provides potable water and a wastewater system to more than four thousand people. As the Association’s office manager, Whitaker is responsible for controlling the Association’s finances. Further, she has access to the Association’s payroll account, and receives a company credit card for use with Association-related expenses.
The Fraud Scheme
The indictment charges that from March 2015 through Feb. 2017, Whitaker perpetrates a scheme to defraud the Association. During this time, she embezzles approximately $800,000.00 of the Association’s funds for her personal use. Whitaker executes the scheme to defraud in two ways. First, Whitaker defrauds the Association by using its credit card account for personal purposes. Specifically, Whitaker repeatedly uses the credit card to obtain cash advances and initiate other charges at casinos. Second, Whitaker defrauds the Association by paying off credit card balances from the Association’s payroll account.
