Bookkeeper Charged In Manhattan Federal Court With Embezzling Over $3.4 Million From Literary Agency And Its Clients

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today that DARIN WEBB was arrested this morning on wire fraud charges stemming from his scheme to defraud a Manhattan-based literary agency (the “Agency”) and its clients of more than $3.4 million.  WEBB provided bookkeeping services for the Agency and carried out his scheme by making unauthorized transfers from the Agency’s bank accounts, and then making changes to the Agency’s accounting system to evade detection.  WEBB was arrested this morning in Manhattan, and will be presented today before United States Magistrate Judge Barbara C. Moses.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “As alleged, Darin Webb, a bookkeeper for a firm in the book business, cooked the firm’s books to conceal a multimillion-dollar embezzlement.  Now he is in custody and facing prosecution.”

FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said:  “As alleged, Darin Webb was responsible for the financial welfare of the agency whose accounts he oversaw, but instead of upholding his fiscal responsibilities, he spent his time swindling more than $3.4 million from his victims.  Cooking the books rarely pays off in the long run, as the defendant has learned today.”

According to the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:

From in or about 2001 through in or about March 2018, DARIN WEBB, the defendant, was engaged as a bookkeeper for the Agency.  From at least January 2011 through March 2018, WEBB used his position as the Agency’s bookkeeper to transfer more than $3.4 million of funds, belonging to the Agency and the Agency’s clients, from the Agency’s bank accounts to bank accounts that WEBB controlled.  In order to evade detection of his criminal conduct and carry out his scheme, WEBB made changes to the Agency’s accounting records to disguise the nature of the transfers.

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WEBB, 47, of Manhattan, is charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.  The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the Court.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine I. Magdo is in charge of the prosecution.

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.