Monroe Woman Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Employer Out of More Than $4.3 Million
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 20, 2010 |
CINCINNATI—Kimberly Prebles, 42, of Monroe pled guilty in United States District Court here today to one count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false federal income tax return arising from the defendant's scheme to defraud her employer Clark Western Building Systems, Inc. of Middletown of approximately $4,315,755.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS), announced the plea entered today before United States District Judge Susan Dlott.
According to court documents, Prebles worked at Clark Western from 1999 until March 2009, most recently as an accounting manager in the accounts payable department. Prebles opened a bank account in the name of one of the company’s vendors and began writing checks and making wire transfers from company accounts into the account she controlled. She falsified documents within the company to try and prevent her actions from being discovered. She used the money to pay personal expenses, including the purchase of jewelry, clothes, travel, vehicles, and home improvements.
She pled guilty to failing to report the income from the embezzlement scheme on her personal income tax returns from 2005 through 2008.
Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment. Filing a false income tax return is punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment. Judge Dlott will schedule a sentencing hearing for Prebles at a later date.
The plea agreement also requires Prebles to pay mandatory restitution in the amount of at least $4,315,755.00 to the victim, and mandatory restitution of at least $829,207.77 to the Internal Revenue Service.
Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by the FBI and IRS agents who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Barry, who is prosecuting the case.