Former Office Manager Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison for Embezzling More Than $1.5 Million from Employer

Defendant Admits Making Unauthorized Charges, Writing Fraudulent Checks

            WASHINGTON – The former office manager of a trade association management company was sentenced today to 51 months in prison on a federal charge of wire fraud for embezzling more than $1.5 million from the firm, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

            Leunea D. Myers, 39, of Clinton, Md., pled guilty in March 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was sentenced by the Honorable Christopher R. Cooper. Following her prison term, she will be placed on three years of supervised release. She also must pay $1,550,075 in restitution to her former employer and two of its clients, and the Court issued a forfeiture money judgment in the same amount.

            According to a statement of offense filed as part of the plea, Myers worked from February 2015 to November 2017 as the office manager and bookkeeper for a company identified in court documents as “Company A.” This company is a professional trade association management company in the District of Columbia that has been in business for more than 40 years. It has two primary clients. Myers’s responsibilities included tracking client billings and receipts, depositing money, and reconciling clients’ bank accounts, drafting checks, and preparing financial statements.

             From April 2015 through November 2017, Myers embezzled funds by making unauthorized charges on company credit cards and by writing fraudulent checks directly to herself or to pay third parties to pay bills that she owed.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Assistant Director in Charge McNamara commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Caruso and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Welsh and Parker Tobin, who assisted with forfeiture issues; Paralegal Specialist Brittany Phillips; former Paralegal Specialist Kate Abrey, and former Assistant U.S.  Attorney John P. Marston. Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Derrick L. Williams, who handled the sentencing phase of the case.