Woman writes herself forged checks while embezzling nearly $2.2M from employer, feds say

A woman who was tasked with managing her employer’s various bank accounts for about 38 years spent nine of those years stealing nearly $2.2 million, according to federal authorities.

Now the former office manager from Oklahoma has pleaded guilty to bank fraud and tax evasion, records show.

The Bixby woman is accused of embezzling about $2,188,870 from her employer between December 2012 and May 2021, according to a March 15 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

McClatchy News reached out to the woman’s defense attorney on March 16 and is awaiting a response.

To steal the money without being detected, authorities said that the employee fraudulently transferred money from her employer’s accounts into an account under the name of the victim’s wife, who died in 2016.

Once the money was in that account, the woman wrote forged checks payable to herself or for her behalf, prosecutors said.

The secretary then used that money to pay her own credit card bills, according to court records.

“Additionally, she admitted that for tax year 2020, she failed to report income she had obtained illegally in the amount of $289,810, thus failing to pay over $62,067 in taxes to the United States Treasury,” authorities said.

In pleading guilty, the woman will be required to pay at least $2,188,870 in restitution and $62,067 to the IRS, according to the release. The final restitution amount will be determined when she is sentenced.

College student stole $547K from her jewelry store job and bought a Tesla, cops say

Bank manager steals cash directly from vault in $439,000 Missouri fraud case, feds say

Worker funds wedding with stolen money — then brags about ‘bonuses’ on TikTok, feds say