ABINGDON, VA—A federal grand jury sitting in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon has charged the chief financial officer at Bristol Virginia Utilities [BVU] with a variety of tax and fraud charges in a 15-count federal indictment.

The grand jury has charged Stacey Pomrenke, a.k.a. Stacey Bright, 43, of Abingdon, Virginia, with one count of conspiracy to commit tax fraud, three counts of making false statements, three counts of extortion, one count of program theft, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and six counts of wire fraud.

The indictment, returned October 26, 2015, alleges that Pomrenke, through her position as chief financial officer with BVU, used her power to obtain things of value from vendors who were engaged in business relationships with BVU. Those things of value included, allegedly, tickets to baseball and football games, alcohol and the funding of official BVU company functions. Pomrenke is also charged with conspiring to defraud the United States by falsely reporting wages and other financial benefits of BVU employees to the Internal Revenue Service.

If convicted, Pomrenke faces a maximum possible penalty of up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000.

The investigation of the case, which remains ongoing, is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Lee will prosecute the case for the United States.

A Grand Jury Indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.