Five People Indicted on Charges of Embezzling Nearly $500,000 from Trident Seafoods

ANCHORAGE—U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that five individuals with ties to Kodiak, Alaska were indicted on charges of wire fraud for their role in embezzling almost $500,000 from Trident Seafoods.

Isairis Wolfe, 32, of Kodiak, Alaska; Anne Wilson (aka Anne Sorio), 31 of Kent, Washington; Jeremy Smith, 30 of Kodiak, Alaska, Valerie Olivares, 34 of Corpus Christi, Texas; and Jamie Fathke, 28 of Kodiak, Alaska, were indicted on wire fraud charges on September 18, 2012. Four of the defendants have been taken into federal custody. The initial appearance for two of the defendants from Kodiak, Wolfe and Smith, are scheduled for this afternoon in Anchorage.

According to the indictment, between approximately January 2008 and continuing until August 2010, Isairis Wolfe used her position as the bookkeeper for Trident Seafoods in Kodiak to write Trident checks to four of her personal associates: Wilson, Smith, Olivares, and Fathke. The allegations include that Wolfe, using her check writing authority at Trident, drafted approximately 52 checks on a Trident account and made them payable to her personal associates—Wilson, Smith, Olivares, and Fathke—as well as to Wilson’s minor son, L.E. The checks were negotiated by Wolfe and her associates and they shared the proceeds. It is further alleged that Wolfe concealed the fraud by creating fraudulent accounting records so that the payments appeared to be legitimate.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aunnie Steward, who presented the case to the grand jury, indicated that the law provides for a maximum total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both for each count, as well as restitution for the amount embezzled. Under the federal sentencing statutes, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Ms. Loeffler commends the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigation of this case and the Kodiak Police Department for its assistance in the investigation of this case.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.