Maryland Woman Pleads Guilty to Stealing More than $240,000 from Employer
Payroll Manager Admits She Manipulated Payroll System to Embezzle Funds

WASHINGTON—Jennifer Cabral, 37, of Odenton, Maryland, a former payroll manager at a commercial real estate firm, has pled guilty to a charge stemming from her theft of more than $240,000 from the company, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

Cabral pled guilty on August 11, 2011 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of interstate transportation of stolen property. The Honorable Richard W. Roberts scheduled sentencing for October 26, 2011. The charge carries a statutory penalty of up to 10 years in prison, and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the pecuniary gain or loss. As part of the guilty plea, Cabral has agreed to pay full restitution to all victims of her criminal conduct, and consented to an order forfeiting $244,852.

According to a statement of offense submitted to the court, Cabral used the unique access she had as the commercial real estate firm’s payroll manager to manipulate its payroll system in multiple ways that resulted in a significant increase to her compensation. Specifically, between 2007 and 2010, she made manual changes to the firm’s payroll data that effectively increased her hourly rate of pay and entered fraudulent and unauthorized overtime hours.

Cabral’s actions also included, among other things, reactivating former employees’ payroll accounts in order to arrange for wages to be paid in the names of those employees, while the funds actually were deposited into Cabral’s own Maryland bank account. In order to conceal her actions, Cabral altered payroll reports that were circulated within the accounting department and provided to auditors.

The defendant’s manipulations caused the firm, based in Washington, D.C., to make unauthorized payments to Cabral and on her behalf in an amount totaling about $244,852 between 2007 and 2010. When investigators contacted Cabral, she admitted to the offense.

In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the efforts of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which investigated the case. He also acknowledged the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Lucas, of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, as well as former Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn Leon and Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison Barlotta, who prosecuted the case.