Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
A former office manager from Attleboro has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for embezzling more than $400,000 from her employer, a Franklin-based environmental services company. The sentencing took place in federal court in Boston.
Marie Hobson, 55, received the sentence from U.S. District Court Chief Judge Denise J. Casper. In addition to her prison term, Hobson will serve three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $511,119 in restitution and forfeit $429,980. Hobson pleaded guilty in October 2025 to two counts of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return.
According to court documents, between December 2019 and March 2025, Hobson increased her payroll by adding about $268,046 in fake expense reimbursements. These included costs such as uniforms that she did not actually use for her position. She used accounting software manipulation to make it appear that she was only receiving her regular salary.
Hobson also used a company-issued credit card for personal expenses totaling over $105,000. These expenses included country club memberships, vacations, cruises, timeshares, and payments related to her personal residence.
Authorities stated that Hobson failed to report the embezzled funds on her federal income tax returns from 2021 through 2024. This resulted in an estimated tax loss of $81,000 for the government.
"United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Thomas E. Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement today." The Franklin Police Department assisted with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Kosto prosecuted the case as Chief of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit.
