St. Louis, MO -Tara Sabatini, 44, of St. Charles, Missouri, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday, November 7, 2019, on three counts of wire fraud. She appeared this afternoon for her initial appearance.
According to the Indictment, Sabatini was employed as the “Senior Director of Sales" by “Company #1," a company located in St. Louis, Missouri that sold wholesale amounts of food to various commercial customers, typically grocery store chains. Company #1 provided Ms. Sabatini with a company-funded corporate credit card, and authorized her to use the credit card for official business, including work travel and some client expenses.
During 2017-18, Sabatini used her corporate credit card to fund personal expenses, including but not limited to purchasing plane tickets for a friend of her husband, purchasing plane tickets for her parents, purchasing hotel rooms for her husband and his friends, and purchasing gift cards for personal use.
Moreover, Sabatini purchased luxury ticket packages from a Major League Baseball team that was located in New York, frequently using electronic communications with New York based employees of the team for ticket purchase and delivery purposes. After receiving these baseball tickets, Sabatini attended some of the baseball games, and also gave some of the tickets to her friends and family. Sabatini further sold some of the baseball tickets through an Internet service, deposited the proceeds in a joint account that she shared with her husband, and spent the proceeds of the ticket sales on her personal expenses.
If convicted, each charge of wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating this case.
Charges set forth in the Indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
