A former Stanton woman was taken into custody today in connection with a fraud scheme she operated while employed by small business owners in Orange County, California, announced Steven Martinez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles; and André Birotte Jr., United States Attorney for the Central District of California.
Juliana James England, 45, of Searcy, Arkansas, was arrested this morning at her current residence by agents with the FBI’s Little Rock Field Office.
A federal grand jury in Orange County, California, returned an indictment yesterday charging England with three counts of mail fraud.
According to the indictment, England defrauded her employer beginning in or about March 2000, and continuing through in or about August 2007, while she worked part-time at Callan Western Sales (CWS), a business that sold sporting goods on behalf of manufacturers.
While employed at CWS, England performed clerical and administrative tasks, including the preparation of checks drawn on CWS. England was given access to company checks and registers, as well as online access to the company account. England was expected to arrange and pay for travel-related expenses incurred by company employees, as well as other company expenses.
According to the indictment, England wrote company checks to herself and for her personal use, and would camouflage the theft of funds by writing the names of legitimate vendors on company check stubs. She also accessed the company’s online account and made payments to her personal credit cards. In order to further conceal the unauthorized charges, England contacted the issuers of the company’s credit card and changed the address for account statements to a post office box in her name and to her home address, according to the indictment.
England lived in Orange County at the time of the alleged fraud. CWS was a family owned business that operated between 1976 and 2007. In 2007, the company discontinued operations due to financial difficulties.
The fraud was discovered after the business closed when the owners received credit card statements with charges listed that were not related to the business. The charges included England’s personal expenses, including airline tickets for family members. Upon further investigation, the company owners discovered the extent of the fraud and reported it to law enforcement. Investigators have determined that England stole nearly $400,000 during the course of her employment.
If convicted on the charges, England faces a statutory maximum sentence of 60 years in prison.
England will have an initial appearance in United States District Court on Friday in Little Rock, Arkansas.
This investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and the Los Alamitos Police Department, with the assistance of the FBI’s Little Rock Field Office. England will be prosecuted by the United States Attorney in Orange County (Central District CA).
An indictment complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Media Contact:
FBI: Laura Eimiler, Lourdes Arocho (speaks Spanish) & Ari Dekofsky: 310 996-3343
United States Attorney’s Office Spokesman: Thom Mrozek: 213 894-6947
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