Bookkeeper Pleads Guilty to $1.5 Million Fraud Scheme

RICHMOND, Va. – Amy Lynn Galloway, 45, of Cumberland, pleaded guilty today to charges related to running a bookkeeping fraud scheme that caused a loss of approximately $1.5 million over eight years from a Richmond residential development and construction company.

According to the filed court documents, Galloway, who worked as the bookkeeper of the construction business, stole approximately $1.54 million from 2009 until 2016. Galloway’s scheme had two parts. First, Galloway wrote unauthorized checks on several business checking accounts, then would deposit the checks into her own bank accounts and joint bank accounts she shared with her children. She would then use the funds for personal purposes. Galloway hid the check misappropriations by not recording the fraudulent checks in the accounting records she regularly prepared, maintained and submitted to the outside accountants for tax purposes.

The second part of Galloway’s scheme was fraudulently misusing business credit card accounts for personal purposes. From 2007 to 2016, Galloway deposited approximately 578 fraudulent business checks worth approximately $1.1 million into personal bank accounts, and misused the credit card numerous times in the approximate total amount of $440,000.

Galloway faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on April 20. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck. Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Maguire is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-CR-157.