Former Bookkeeper For Anoka Flooring Company Sentenced To 46 Months In Prison For $630,000 Embezzlement Scheme

United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced that SHARI ANN NATYSIN, a/k/a Shari Ann Johnson, 33, was sentenced to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay full restitution for embezzling more than $630,000 from her former employer. NATYSIN, who pleaded guilty on February 28, 2019, to wire fraud, tax evasion, and making and subscribing a false tax return, was sentenced earlier today before Senior Judge David S. Doty in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

According to admissions made as part of her guilty plea and documents filed in court, NATYSIN was employed as the bookkeeper and office manager for a privately owned industrial concrete flooring business located in Anoka, Minnesota. Between January 2015 and December 2017, NATYSIN used her position and access to employee payroll data to defraud the company out of more than $630,000 and to defraud the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (“MNDEED”). As part of the scheme, NATYSIN manipulated the company’s payroll data in order to transfer more than $630,000 in company funds to her own personal bank accounts through more than 100 separate fraudulent transactions. NATYSIN used the funds to pay for personal expenses, including approximately $28,000 in restitution payments to Sherburne County District Court, a $10,000 payment to her mother, Carnival cruise tickets, and tickets to concerts and sporting events.

According to admissions made as part of her guilty plea and documents filed in court, in September 2017, the company discovered NATYSIN’s fraud and terminated her employment. From the time she was fired until December 2017, NATYSIN made fraudulent unemployment claims to MNDEED by making false statements about the reason for her termination. When the company filed an appeal of NATYSIN’s receipt of unemployment benefits, NATYSIN used the company’s login information to access their MNDEED account to withdraw the appeal. As a result of NATYSIN’s fraudulent claims, MNDEED issued approximately $7,500 in unemployment benefits to which NATYSIN was not entitled. Additionally, NATYSIN admitting to filing and attempting to file false tax returns for tax years 2015 and 2016, in an attempt to receive tax refunds and defeat more than $100,000 in federal income tax.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly A. Svendsen and Jordan L. Sing prosecuted the case.

Defendant Information:

SHARI ANN NATYSIN, 33

Elk River, Minn.

Convicted:

    Wire fraud, 9 counts

    Tax evasion, 2 counts

    Making and subscribing a false tax return, 1 count

Sentenced:

    46 months in prison

    Three years of supervised release

    $668,551.25 in restitution