SC woman embezzled $1.7 million from Charlotte company, spent it on shopping, cars, trips
A Rock Hill area woman in charge of a Charlotte company’s finances for years has admitted she embezzled $1.7 million.
Kristin Turney, 54, of Catawba in York County, spent hundreds of thousands of stolen money on shopping trips and vacations, as well as car, mortgage, and tuition payments, according to court documents and federal prosecutors.
Turney pleaded guilty to wire fraud Friday in federal court in Charlotte three weeks after a grand jury indicted her on Oct. 15.
She faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
It remains unclear what company Turney worked for when running the scheme before the FBI investigated. Federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of North Carolina have not identified the company in court documents other than to say the business is “privately-held.”
The indictment, a prosecution affidavit and Turney’s guilty plea do not give the name of the company, a review of court records showed.
The scheme: Steal, cover up
Turney covered up the scheme by making phony entries in the company’s books to conceal the theft from the business owner and employees, according documents filed by prosecutors.
She wrote checks to herself without proper approval or authorization, then deposited the money into her account at a South Carolina credit union, federal prosecutors say.
She also sent false records to the company’s tax preparer, according to court records.
What happens now?
Turney could be fined as much as $250,000, along with the possibility of prison.
In pleading guilty, Turney had to agree in writing to give federal agents access to her financial information, which will be presented to a judge before sentencing.
No sentencing date has been set.
