A former Charlotte-based accountant was sentenced to 41 months in prison for embezzling more than $1.1 million from her employer, according to an announcement by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Mandy Deann Urban, 49, was also ordered to serve two years of supervised release and pay over $1 million in restitution.
The sentencing follows a joint investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD). U.S. Attorney Ferguson was joined in the announcement by Kyle Burns, Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI for North Carolina and South Carolina, and Chief Estella D. Patterson of CMPD.
Court records indicate that between January 2019 and June 2022, Urban worked as a senior staff accountant at a company based in Charlotte. Her responsibilities included maintaining financial records and reconciling accounts. During this period, she used her position to transfer funds from company bank accounts into accounts she controlled. She then falsified company records to hide these activities. In total, Urban made more than 245 unauthorized transfers amounting to $1,115,344.73.
Urban has prior convictions related to financial crimes in Florida. In 2015, she received five years of supervised probation after being convicted of Grand Theft for stealing approximately $135,000. She was convicted again in June 2022 for another fraudulent scheme and sentenced to two years in prison with an order to pay about $283,000 in restitution.
On March 26, 2024, Urban pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges connected to the embezzlement case in Charlotte. She will report to federal prison once assigned a facility.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson stated: "In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson commended HSI and CMPD’s Financial Crimes Unit for their investigation of the case."
The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney William Bozin from the Charlotte office.
