Michele Higson, Bank Fraud, Massachusetts 2023

Georgetown Woman Sentenced for Bank Fraud

BOSTON – A Georgetown woman has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for her role in a massive bank fraud scheme that left her former employer out over $419,000.

Michele Higson, 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns to 27 months in prison, five years of supervised release and was ordered to pay over $419,000 in restitution. In September 2019, Higson pleaded guilty to four counts of bank fraud.

Higson was also sentenced separately for violating her supervised release, which was imposed in a prior case following her September 2017 conviction for a fraudulent scheme. U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper sentenced Higson to an additional six months in prison for the supervised release violation.

The 46-year-old’s scheme began in 2013 when she started working as a part-time bookkeeper for a Wilmington company. From 2015 until her termination in 2018, Higson stole a series of the company’s checks, made them payable to herself or to her husband, and forged her employer’s signatures. She then cashed and deposited the checks for her own personal use.

To conceal her crimes and avoid detection, Higson falsified entries in the company’s books to make it appear as if the stolen checks had been issued to satisfy payment to actual vendors. On several occasions, she also inflated her pay rate and falsified the number of hours she worked, collecting more money than what she actually earned. In total, Higson embezzled over $419,000.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell and Joshua McCallister, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, praised the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Paruti, who prosecuted the case. The case is a stark reminder of the devastating impact that white-collar crime can have on businesses and communities.

Higson’s sentencing serves as a warning to those who would seek to exploit their positions of trust for personal gain. The people of Massachusetts demand accountability from those who would commit such egregious crimes. We will continue to work tirelessly to bring perpetrators like Higson to justice.

Related Federal Cases