Former Buffalo Employee Pleads Guilty To Theft Of Government Funds

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:          (716) 843-5817 
FAX:              (716) 551-3051
                                             
BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Tasha Collier, 38, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr., to theft and conversion concerning programs receiving federal funds. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Guerra, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant was employed as a clerk in the Licensing Department of the City of Buffalo between July 2013 and August 25, 2014. As part of her duties as a clerk, Collier was responsible for collecting payments in cash and by check for licenses issued by the City of Buffalo. Between September 2013 and August 2014, the defendant stole approximately $22,000 in cash, funds that were supposed to be remitted to the City Treasury Department.

The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda.
 
Sentencing is scheduled for July 17, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. before Chief Judge Geraci.