MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A Burnsville woman has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $183,000 from her employer over the course of five years and using it to fund her children’s athletic fees, pay for her utilities and more.
On Monday, Laura Michelle Schwartz, 36, pled guilty to six counts of theft by swindle and one count of theft, which are all felonies. She was then sentenced to 60 days in jail, 60 days on Electronic Home Monitoring 20 days of sentence to serve and 20 years of probation.
Conducting billing and book keeping for a freight shipping company in Eagan, Schwartz was allowed to work from home beginning in 2005, the complaint states.
An audit of company records found suspicious transactions linked to Schwartz’s password, and investigators discovered that she sent 100 electronic transfers into her personal bank account, according to the complaint. It also states that she wrote 82 checks to herself.
“This is the 23rd major economic crime exceeding $50,000 in loss prosecuted in Dakota County since 2006,” Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said. “We are pleased to have convicted Ms. Schwartz for the commission of these significant financial crimes.”
