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Press Release

Marydel Woman Pleads Guilty In Scheme To Embezzle Over $1.2 Million From Her Employer

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maryland


Greenbelt, Maryland - Janice McCumbie, age 45, of Marydel, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to steal over $1.2 million from a consulting company.

The plea agreement was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to her plea agreement, McCumbie worked for a global consulting business that served clients in various industries and had offices in Maryland and elsewhere. Clients paid large retainers to secure consulting services. The consulting company would issue refund checks to the clients in certain circumstances, including when a client’s retainer exceeded the amount of work that the consulting company actually performed or when the client made duplicate payments to the consulting company. McCumbie’s duties included coordinating client refunds.

Between June and December 2008, McCumbie caused the consulting company to issue six fraudulent refund checks totaling $121,081.22 to a co-conspirator in exchange for a share of the check proceeds.

From February 2009 to October 2013, McCumbie caused the consulting company to issue 42 false refund checks totaling $910,490.74 to defendant Leonard Smedley in exchange for a share of the check proceeds. Similarly, from October 2010 to November 2013, McCumbie caused the consulting company to issue 17 false refund checks totaling $217,695.57 to her niece, defendant Amber Gayleard, who cashed the checks and shared the proceeds with McCumbie. Smedley and Gayleard were not clients of the consulting company.

McCumbie has agreed to forfeit and pay restitution of $1,249,267.53, the loss resulting from her conduct.

McCumbie faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel scheduled her sentencing for January 27, 2015, at 9:30 a.m.

Leonard Smedley II, age 35, of Capitol Heights, Maryland; and Amber Gayleard, age 29, of Schuylkillhaven, Pennsylvania, previously pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and are scheduled to be sentenced on January 15 and 20, 2015, respectively, both at 9:00 a.m.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI for its work in the investigation and thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Leah Jo Bressack and David Salem, who are prosecuting the case.

Updated January 26, 2015