Category: embezzlement

Ex-Controller for Anaheim Companies Gets 5 Years for Embezzlement

SANTA ANA. Calif.—A former controller for two Anaheim-based companies was sentenced April 17 to more than five years in federal prison for embezzling about $3 million. Rosalba Meza, 48, of Dana Point, pleaded guilty Dec. 12 to embezzlement, cheating on her taxes, and fraudulently applying for Paycheck Protection Program relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, receiving…


FBI, US Marshals Offering US$20,000 Reward in Manhunt for Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s Chief of Staff

The FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service are offering a combined US$20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Roy McGrath, the one-time chief of staff for former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. The reward for McGrath’s arrest comes after he failed to appear in court on March 13 to face federal fraud and embezzlement…


FBI Raids Home of Ex-Maryland Governor’s Former Top Aide After No Show for Trial

The FBI raided the home of Roy McGrath, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s former chief of staff after he failed to appear in Baltimore to stand trial on federal corruption charges. The raid on McGrath’s home in Naples, Florida, was conducted on Wednesday morning. McGrath was found not to be there, but his wife was present…


Disbarred Attorney Tom Girardi Charged With Stealing More Than $15 Million From Clients

Tom Girardi, co-founder of the defunct Los Angeles law firm Girardi Keese, was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly embezzling more than $15 million from several of his legal clients, federal prosecutors announced Feb. 1. The 83-year-old Girardi—the estranged husband of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne—is charged with five counts…


Irvine Man Accused of Stealing $2.6 Million from Real Estate Agency

SANTA ANA, Calif.—An Irvine man suspected of embezzling $2.6 million from a Newport Beach-based real estate agency was arrested Monday on mail and wire fraud charges. Varun Aggarwal, a former executive of KBS Realty Advisors, submitted bogus invoices from 2012 through January 2022 for consulting services that were never performed, according to prosecutors. He used…


Ex-Honduras First Lady Sentenced to Prison for Embezzlement

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras—A judge sentenced former Honduran First Lady Rosa Elena Bonilla de Lobo to 14 years in prison Wednesday on corruption charges, the second time Bonilla had been sentenced. Bonilla will be allowed to appeal the sentence within 20 days, court spokesman Carlos Silva said. The first time Bonilla was convicted and sentenced to 58…


Cloudy With a Chance of Fraud: Federal Weatherization’s Back

Alarm bells are sounding at the Department of Energy as the Biden administration has moved to triple the budget for the Weatherization Assistance Program, which provides low-income applicants with free home and apartment renovations, such as insulation, duct-sealing, new heating systems, and kitchen appliances. The last time the program was lavished with such a surge…


Ex-Goldman Banker’s Wife Testifies in Husband’s Defense at 1MDB Trial

NEW YORK—The wife of former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng on Monday testified in her husband’s defense at a U.S. trial over the looting of hundreds of millions of dollars from Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund between 2009 and 2014. Ng, Goldman’s former chief for Malaysia, is charged with conspiring to launder money and violate…


Millions Stolen From Health Fund Spent on Adult Website

TAMPA, Fla.—A former accounts manager for a nonprofit affiliated with the University of South Florida’s medical school has pleaded guilty to embezzling almost $13 million, spending most of it on an adult website with some of it coming back to him. The Tampa Bay Times reports that Ralph Puglisi, 59, is facing up to 20…


 Ex-Union President from Glendora Sentenced to Two Years for Embezzlement

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A former union president from Glendora was sentenced July 22 to 28 months in federal prison for abusing her leadership position to embezzle union funds—behavior that depleted the union’s bank accounts and led her to double the dues paid by union members. Aja Ann Jasmin, 42, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael…