Home Dallas Press Releases 2009 Law Firm Office Manager Sentenced to Nearly Four Years in Federal Prison for Stealing Cash from Firm
Info
This is archived material from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) website. It may contain outdated information and links may no longer function.

Law Firm Office Manager Sentenced to Nearly Four Years in Federal Prison for Stealing Cash from Firm

U.S. Attorney’s Office September 14, 2009
  • Northern District of Texas (214) 659-8600

AMARILLO, TX—The former office manager at the Sanders Baker Law Firm in Amarillo, Staci Renee Cartwright, who pleaded guilty in April to forging securities of an organization, was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson to 46 months in prison, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. In addition, Judge Robinson ordered that Cartwright pay a total of $196,378 restitution to the Sanders Baker Law Firm and the Transportation Insurance Company.

Cartwright was employed as the firm’s office manager 2000 to October 1, 2007. According to documents filed in court when Cartwright entered her guilty plea, she admitted stealing cash that was paid to the firm by its clients and deposited the stolen funds into her personal bank account. She also admitted diverting firm funds into an account and then issuing unauthorized checks out of that account. She made payments to her personal American Express credit card by writing checks on the firm’s accounts or by authorizing wire transfers from the firm’s accounts. In addition, she admitted using the firm’s funds to pay her health care deductibles, her personal 401K retirement contributions and her personal Sam’s club account fill. She tried to disguise her activities by making false entries into the firm’s record-keeping system and generating bogus bank statements to conceal her theft.

The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Drake of the Amarillo, Texas, U.S. Attorney’s Office.

This content has been reproduced from its original source.