BATON ROUGE, LA—United States Attorney Walt Green announced today the unsealing of an indictment returned by a federal grand jury last week which charges LORI S. FRY, age 46, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with nine (9) counts of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. If convicted, the defendant could face significant incarceration, fines, restitution, forfeiture of proceeds, and supervised release following imprisonment.

The indictment alleges that the defendant embezzled approximately $465,000 from her employer, a specialty electrical engineering firm in Baton Rouge. According to the indictment, while working as a manager and bookkeeper at the firm, the defendant diverted over 100 separate payments from the firm’s account to her own personal use, through her personal bank account and otherwise.

U.S. Attorney Green stated: “Fraud threats loom virtually everywhere, but it is often the insider who poses the biggest danger in terms of both amount and duration. As our region continues to grow, it is increasingly important for us to remain vigilant against corporate fraud. My office will continue to do its part in combatting such criminality.”

This matter was investigated by the Baton Rouge office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frederick A. Menner, Jr. and Special Assistant United States Attorney J. Brad Casey.

NOTE: An indictment is an accusation by the Grand Jury. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless adjudicated guilty at trial or through a guilty plea.