A 40-year-old woman from Kent, Washington, named Christin Guillory was sentenced to three years in prison on August 29, 2023, in U.S. District Court in Seattle for wire and tax fraud linked to a decade-long embezzlement operation. Guillory, who worked as an accounting manager at a manufacturing company in Everett, stole over $2.5 million by funneling funds into fake company accounts and then transferring them to her personal bank accounts.
"For nine years she engaged in a meticulous scheme to hide her theft. Over those nine years, she deliberately chose to steal from the company 867 times," Tessa M. Gorman said. "And she did it while working side-by-side with colleagues who trusted her."
According to a press release, Guillory, aged 40, received a three-year prison sentence on August 29, 2023, in U.S. District Court in Seattle due to her involvement in the embezzlement scheme characterized by wire fraud and tax fraud. Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman made the announcement. Guillory illicitly appropriated over $2.5 million from her employer by channeling funds into fictitious company accounts she established, subsequently diverting these funds into her personal bank accounts. During the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez acknowledged Guillory's theft was influenced by drug addiction but underscored her failure to address this issue throughout her life.
According to case records, in April 2013, Guillory created an account with the payment processor Square, disguising it with a name that suggested it was affiliated with a commercial shipping company. Between 2014 and 2019, she surreptitiously transferred $1,695,591 to this account and then directed the money into her personal bank accounts. She manipulated company records by inserting false entries to camouflage her illicit activities.
In 2019, Guillory abandoned Square for her fraudulent activities, opting instead for two PayPal accounts. One of these PayPal accounts bore a name closely resembling that of her employer, while the other was linked to a shipping firm with which she had no actual connection. In 2020 and 2021, she choreographed transfers totaling $604,000 to these PayPal accounts and fabricated financial records to conceal her tracks. Subsequently, she shifted the majority of these funds for personal use. Displaying increased audacity, between August and November 2021, Guillory channeled $247,000 directly from company accounts to her personal bank accounts. Once again, she doctored financial records and reused legitimate invoices to create an appearance of legitimate business transactions. In total, Guillory conducted a minimum of 867 covert transactions involving interstate wires, accumulating $2,536,086.
