Payroll Supervisor at Newport, Kentucky Business Sentenced 33 Months for Wire Fraud
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 31, 2011 |
COVINGTON—The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation jointly announced today that a former payroll supervisor for a company that manufactures pipes and tubes in Newport, Kentucky was sentenced to 33 months in prison yesterday for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the company.
U.S. District Court Judge David L. Bunning sentenced 49-year-old Linda J. Lawson for wire fraud. Judge Bunning also ordered that Lawson pay full restitution to her employer in the amount of $651,621.58.
Lawson worked as the payroll supervisor at IPSCO Tubulars Kentucky, Inc. and had access to the company’s payroll system and payroll bank account. She entered hours worked, pay rates, gross wages and employee direct deposit information.
Lawson admitted that from January 2007 until November 2009, she entered payroll for former employees and current employees who were not scheduled to be paid that week, then changed the direct deposit information to funnel the improper payments into her own personal account at Fifth Third Bank.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Laura Voorhees prosecuted the case on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.