A Santa Fe woman was sentenced on July 17 to more than nine years in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution after embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Santa Fe electrical company.
According to court records, Charity Felch, 48, embezzled at least $385,930 from her employer, Rodeo Electrical Services, between May 2017 and April 2020. Felch fraudulently paid herself and her husband using company funds for personal expenses and concealed the theft through fraudulent financial transactions. She also engaged in bank fraud by tendering fraudulent checks and committed aggravated identity theft and access device fraud by using another person’s identifying information and financial accounts without authorization.
Felch exploited a position of trust granted by the owner of Rodeo Electrical Services, who had provided her employment and housing. The scheme nearly drove the company into financial ruin, delayed the victim’s retirement plans, and caused significant financial, emotional, and physical hardship.
After pleading guilty to five counts of bank fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of access device fraud, Felch continued deceptive conduct while on pretrial release. Court records show she repeatedly provided false information about her employment to Pretrial Services, the U.S. Probation Office, and the Court. A federal judge found her testimony regarding her employment history not credible and concluded that she had provided false information to supervising officers over an extended period.
Felch was sentenced to 111 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $385,930.19 in restitution to the victim. In imposing the sentence at the top of the advisory guideline range, the Court cited the seriousness of Felch’s conduct and deterrence as factors.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced the sentencing. The case was investigated by FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office with assistance from Santa Fe Police Department; Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred J. Federici prosecuted it.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office brought a separate civil forfeiture action on April 15 seeking forfeiture of assets seized in November 2021; litigation is ongoing.