Westville Woman Ordered To Pay $708,971.93 In Restitution

HAMMOND-Debra McCall, 46, of Westville, Indiana was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Theresa L. Springmann upon her guilty plea to bank fraud and filing a false tax return, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.    

McCall was sentenced to 27 months in prison, 2 years of supervised release to include 6 months of home confinement and ordered to pay $708,971.93 in restitution.

“Ms. McCall took advantage of her employer’s trust for her own selfishness,” said United States Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II.  “Many small businesses operate on a thin margin and pilfering money from employers could cause severe financial issues, disrupting the lives of many who rely on those businesses for their livelihoods.  My Office and our federal partners take these crimes seriously and will continue to prosecute schemes like these throughout the District.”

According to documents in the case, McCall, while employed as a bookkeeper for a small local sales company, used her position of trust to steal more than $700,000 from her employer during a three year period.  She devised and executed a scheme to embezzle money from her employer’s accounts by using her knowledge of the bookkeeping and accounting software.  She created and printed checks drawn on the company’s accounts.  She made the checks payable to her boyfriend and forged the manager’s signature on each check. She then canceled the checks in the accounting system and balanced the company’s books by incorporating the amounts she took into other entries to avoid detection.  McCall admitted that she stole the money and gambled it away. 

“As we often see in embezzlement cases, the victims are not only the taxpayers, but also the individuals and entities who suffer the financial harm”, stated Special Agent in Charge Kathy A. Enstrom of the IRS Criminal Investigation, Chicago Field Office. "We would like the taxpayers to take notice that today’s 27-month sentence of Debra McCall resulted in serious prison time because she misused her position of trust at her company by embezzling company funds and failing to report the funds on her income tax return.”

“Ms. McCall thought she could use her position of trust in the office and her access to company funds for her own personal benefit. But, instead, her greed and self-interest means she is headed to prison for her crime,” said Special Agent in Charge Paul Keenan, FBI Indianapolis. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to aggressively investigate those who abuse their positions and hold them accountable.”

This case is the result of the investigative efforts of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alexandra McTague.

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