FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Case # 14HF0868
Date: June 21, 2017
BOOKKEEPER CONVICTED OF EMBEZZLING OVER $1.3 MILLION FROM IRVINE LAW FIRM
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A bookkeeper was convicted yesterday of embezzling over $1.3 million from a law firm in Irvine and issuing unauthorized checks for her own benefit.
|
Defendant |
Charges |
Maximum Exposure |
Court Date |
|
Shawna Renee Barretto, 43, Anaheim |
Pleaded guilty on June 20, 2017, to the following felony counts:
Sentencing Enhancements
|
32 years in state prison |
Sentencing
Feb. 5, 2018, 8:30 a.m.
Department C-57, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana |
Circumstances of the Case
- Between 2005 and 2012, Barretto worked as a bookkeeper and an office manager for an Irvine law firm and embezzled over $1.3 million through deceptive record-keeping.
- Barretto made unauthorized payments to her personal credit card accounts and opened credit card accounts in the law firm’s name.
- The defendant hid those fraudulent payments by entering false entries in the law firm’s computer-based accounting records and used accounts to make payments on personal expenses including her children’s private school tuition, golf club memberships, and other unauthorized expenses.
- On May 12, 2012, an employee of the law firm was reviewing past bank records and discovered discrepancies in the financial records, including unauthorized checks, and reported it to the Irvine Police Department, who investigated this case.
Prosecutor: Deputy District Attorney Tina Patel of the Major Fraud Unit.