Mesa Woman Sentenced to Over Two Years in Prison for Theft of Almost $650,000 from Her Former Employer

PHOENIX—Yolanda Enos, 46, of Mesa, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake on November 2, 2009, to 27 months in prison. She was also ordered to pay $649,675 in restitution and perform 100 hours of community service for the felony offense of Theft in Excess of $1,000 on an Indian Reservation.  Enos pleaded guilty on August 10, 2009.

At the time of sentencing, representatives of the family owned business, who were all victims of the offense, advised the Court that the theft had caused two of the parents to exhaust over 30 years of their life’s savings just keep the business going. If the theft had not been discovered by an owner’s son, the business may have been forced to close within a month of the discovery. Not only were the victims hurt financially by the loss, they also told the Court that they had been deeply hurt emotionally by Enos since they had treated her like a family member and taken her into their confidence.

Enos admitted that between January 3, 2002 and January 31, 2006, she stole approximately $649,675 while working as the Office Manager for Noline and Smith L.L.C., doing business as JR’s Convenience Store, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Enos admitted she accomplished the thefts while working as the trusted bookkeeper of her employer.

Her bookkeeping duties included the preparation of bank deposits that were to include the money collected in two cash registers that were cashed-out by two cashiers twice a day. Enos took random amounts of money from the cashiers’ envelopes during many days she worked in amounts ranging from approximately $50 to $4,400. Enos regularly took larger amounts on weekends when her employer took in more money.

During the time of the thefts, the convenience store’s records indicated no significant losses or discrepancies on days Enos did not work. The thefts were inadvertently discovered by the son of an owner in January 2006, after one of the bank deposits Enos had prepared was found to be $100 short. Until that day, Enos’ employers had never audited her work. Enos also stated that she could not recall the exact amount she had taken because she had not kept any records concerning her thefts.

At the time of sentencing, Enos was out of custody and under the Court’s supervision. Enos was ordered by Judge Wake to self-surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service on December 7, 2009.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Salt River Pima - Maricopa Tribal Police Department. The prosecution is being handled by Frederick A. Battista, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER: CR-09-211-PHX-NVW
RELEASE NUMBER: 2009-345(Enos)