Lindsay Kneff Indicted in $255K Real Estate Fraud Scheme

Lindsay Kneff, 36, of Virginia Beach, is staring down 16 federal charges after being indicted on a $255,147.20 real estate fraud spree that spanned nearly two years. The former manager at Rose & Womble Realty Company is accused of systematically looting the company’s accounts to fund her personal life, using a mix of forged checks, illegal wire transfers, and altered money orders.

Federal prosecutors say Kneff abused her position overseeing commissions and accounts payable to funnel company funds into her own pockets. Between January 2014 and August 2015, she allegedly wrote unauthorized checks from the firm’s operating account, initiated wire transfers to her personal bank accounts, and rewrote company money orders with her own name as payee. The total damage: $255,147.20 stolen from a business that trusted her with its books.

The indictment unsealed today charges Kneff with six counts of wire fraud, six counts of mail fraud, one count of falsely altering U.S. Postal Service money orders, and three counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property. Each wire and mail fraud count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The money order alteration charge brings a potential five-year stretch, while each money laundering count could add another decade behind bars.

Kneff appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert J. Krask in Norfolk and is now awaiting trial. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan M. Salsbury. Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Brian J. Ebert, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, confirmed the charges following the initial court appearance.

Despite the severity of the allegations, Kneff is presumed innocent until proven guilty. An indictment is not a conviction—it’s a formal accusation that probable cause exists for trial. The court will ultimately decide her fate, guided by the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, should she be found guilty.

Court records and related documents are available through the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or via PACER under Case No. 2:16-cr-139. The full press release is posted on the U.S. Attorney’s Office website for the Eastern District of Virginia.