The former bookkeeper of a New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based seafood company who reached a plea deal in January for embezzling nearly USD 600,000 (EUR 491,257) from her employer has been sentenced to 18 months in prison and a fine of nearly USD 780,000 (EUR 638,646).
Kara Howland, of New Bedford, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper after she pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return in January. Howland admitted in court papers that she had embezzled from her former employer by writing unauthorized checks, filing a false tax return in 2018, and failing to pay taxes on the stolen money.
A release from the U.S. Department of Justice added that she altered the company’s internal accounting record to “make it appear that the checks were paid to legitimate vendors.”
The company that Howland embezzled the funds from was not named in the release; However, online searches associate her with M & B Sea Products Inc. of New Bedford.
Photo courtesy of Bill Perry/Shutterstock
