A Manchester resident has admitted to charges connected to two separate embezzlement schemes involving her former employers, federal authorities announced.
Maria Higgins, 36, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford after waiving her right to be indicted. The announcement was made by David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England.
Court documents show that between mid-2018 and April 2022, Higgins worked as a bookkeeper at New England Kitchen & Bath LLC in Glastonbury. During this period, she stole $504,807 from the company through several methods: issuing checks payable to herself with notations such as “commission” or “bonus,” using a signature handstamp belonging to the business owner, initiating wire transfers into her own accounts, creating fake suppliers and billing the company for fictitious expenses, using company debit cards for personal purchases, and having clients pay her directly for legitimate projects while expensing costs through the company.
From February 2023 to April 2024, Higgins served as accounting manager at PVC Solutions, Inc., a Danbury-based producer and distributor of PVC products. She embezzled $356,181 from this employer by issuing checks to herself, duplicating vendor payment templates to move funds into her personal account, inventing fictitious suppliers for fraudulent billing purposes, paying personal expenses with company funds, and altering accounting records to hide these activities.
Higgins also failed to report approximately $768,650 in stolen income on her federal tax returns from 2018 through 2023. This resulted in an estimated loss of $167,831 to the Internal Revenue Service.
“Higgins pleaded guilty to interstate transportation of stolen money, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, and tax evasion, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years. Judge Oliver scheduled sentencing for December 2.”
“Higgins has agreed to pay full restitution to New England Kitchen & Bath, PVC Solutions, Inc., and the IRS.”
“Higgins is released on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing.”
The investigation was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser is prosecuting the case.
