A former paralegal for a public company in the Chicago area has been sentenced in federal court after admitting to embezzling nearly $100,000 from her employer.
Nakesha Davis, 46, of South Holland, Illinois, used her position to facilitate payments from the company to former employees who had settlement agreements. According to prosecutors, Davis created and submitted false approvals from managers in the legal department that appeared to authorize settlement payments. However, she knew that some of these employees either did not have settlement agreements or the amounts listed were incorrect. Davis then provided her own bank account information instead of the intended recipients’, causing the company’s payroll department to issue payments directly to her.
The total amount embezzled by Davis was $99,905.17.
Davis pleaded guilty last year to a federal wire fraud charge. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah sentenced her to six months of home confinement as part of a two-year probation term. She was also ordered to pay restitution equal to the amount stolen.
The sentencing was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hayley Altabef represented the government in this case.
