Crime

The purchases included a hot tub and “lavish” tickets to see Tom Brady’s return to Gillette Stadium, said U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young.

A former Keene, New Hampshire, woman was convicted last week in federal court of stealing nearly half a million dollars from her former employer.

Stephanie Pratt, 39, was the office administrator for a company based in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, which gave her complete access to her finances, including her bank and credit cards. During the six and a half years she worked there, she stole $492,325.34 from the company, the New Hampshire U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. press release.

She made more than 1,000 unauthorized personal purchases using the company’s credit cards, including more than $5,600 spent on NFL tickets to the Tom Brady game. return to Gillette Stadium as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback in 2021 and over $50,000 on various Amazon purchases that included a hot tub. She also cashed unauthorized checks, listing them as payments to legitimate vendors in the company’s accounting system, using the money for “things like airline tickets and various herbs and spices,” according to the release. .

“Stephanie Pratt is a greedy, serial fraudster who is sent to prison for defrauding her employer and siphoning off nearly half a million dollars to live well beyond her means,” said Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen. in charge of the Boston Division of the FBI.

U.S. District Court Judge Landya B. McCafferty sentenced Pratt to 30 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. Pratt began stealing from the company just six months after she was released from prison for stealing nearly $10,000 from her former employer.

“The defendant’s criminal conduct was brazen,” said Jane E. Young, U.S. Attorney for New Hampshire.

Pratt pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on Aug. 6 after repeatedly lying to the company. According to authorities, she claimed the owner made her cash the unauthorized checks to send money to the owner’s son who, unbeknownst to her, had died. She also altered the company’s credit card statements, removing unauthorized purchases, and when confronted with the missing entries, she reportedly said she adjusted them to make them “easier to read.” . She attributed her misuse of company credit cards to “clicking the wrong button during checkout,” although that happened more than 1,000 times, officials said. After being fired for stealing, she demanded a Christmas bonus on her way out.

The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alexander S. Chen.