Former El Dorado Hills Woman Sentenced to 14 Months in Prison for Defrauding Her Employer
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 04, 2011 |
SACRAMENTO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that Shalena P. Leggett, 37, formerly of El Dorado Hills, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton to 14 months in prison for embezzlement.
According to court documents, on June 21, 2011, Leggett pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud for embezzling more than $450,000 from her employer, a Sacramento-based real estate firm. The activity took place over a 19-month span in 2008 and 2009. To hide the fraud, Leggett made false entries in her employer’s business books.
In sentencing Leggett, Judge Karlton said that the scope of Leggett’s criminal enterprise led him to conclude that a prison term was necessary. He rejected a motion by Leggett that she be granted home confinement and electronic monitoring instead of prison.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Lee Bickley and Matt Morris prosecuted the case.