Tewksbury woman sentenced to prison for embezzling more than $1.8 million from her Acton employer
A Tewksbury woman has been sentenced to more than five years in prison and ordered to pay restitution for embezzling more than $1.8 million from her employer, collecting unemployment assistance while employed full-time and related tax charges.
Joanne Dinoto, also known as Joanne Mara, 49, was sentenced in federal court by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Denise Casper to 62 months in prison and three years of supervised release, Acting United States Attorney Josh Levy said in a statement.
Dinoto was also ordered to pay restitution of $2,195,592, Levy said.
In March 2023, Dinoto pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud, three counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of filing a false tax return, Levy said.
Beginning around October 2008 and through April 2020, Dinoto stole more than $1.8 million from her employer, a flooring company based in Acton, by falsely inflating her compensation, using her employer’s corporate credit card for personal expenses, and forging at least two checks to herself drawn on her employer’s checking account, Levy said.
Prosecutors said to hide her scheme, Dinoto modified her employer’s accounting records.
She later collected unemployment benefits from the state Department of Unemployment Assistance under her true Social Security number, even though she was then working full-time for a different employer, a lighting company based in Wilmington, under a fake Social Security number, Levy said.
Between 2015 and 2020, Dinoto did not report more than $1 million that she embezzled from the Acton company or received from the Wilmington company on her federal income tax returns, Levy said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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