A bookkeeper has been sentenced to 51 months in prison for stealing $2.6 million from the Delaware River Waterfront Corp. (DRWC), which manages the Delaware River waterfront.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Angela DiPietro-Sabatine, 57, of Pennsauken, New Jersey, also will receive 3 years' supervised release and was ordered to pay $2.6 million in restitution and the same amount in criminal forfeiture by U.S. District Judge Joshua Wolson.
“Organizations, especially non-profits and charities with a mission to benefit the public good, must be able to rely on the honesty of employees who handle money,” U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero said in the news release.
To perpetrate the scheme, the U.S. attorney’s office noted in its news release that DiPietro-Sabatine would falsify financial documents for the DRWC and take the money. The news release also noted that she worked as accounting administrator for the organization, handling general ledgers, bank reconciliations and accounts payable and receivable. The release noted that she also created fake expenses for legitimate vendors using DRWC’s systems to create invoices for services that were never carried out.
According to the release, DiPietro-Sabatine in February pleaded guilty to charges of bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and wire fraud.
“DiPietro-Sabatine went to great lengths to hide her criminal conduct from her employer for many years, but justice finally caught up with her," Romero said in the release. "We appreciate DRWC’s cooperation in this investigation so the defendant could be held accountable for her actions.”
