Brandi Marshall, $1M Embezzlement, California 2023

FRESNO, Calif. — A brazen heist shook the business community in Fresno when a former bookkeeper and her associate were arrested for embezzling over $1 million from a local company, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

On Thursday, a federal grand jury returned a 15-count indictment against Brandi Marshall, 41, and Daniel Barrios Jr., 37, charging them with conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.

According to court documents, Marshall was employed as the company’s bookkeeper between October 2014 and March 2016 and was responsible for, among other things, receiving and depositing payment checks from customers to pay their invoices. During that time, she and Barrios misappropriated more than 100 checks and fraudulently deposited them into Barrios’s personal bank account.

Marshall and Barrios used money derived from the fraudulently deposited checks for personal purchases, including more than $35,000 to purchase and accessorize a 2016 Ford Mustang GT, and more than $25,000 for a 2012 Dodge Challenger. Marshall created fictitious entries in the company’s computer accounting application to attempt to conceal the embezzlement.

Together, Marshall and Barrios embezzled more than $1 million dollars, leaving a trail of financial devastation in their wake.

The case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher D. Baker is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Marshall and Barrios face a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each of the wire fraud and bank fraud charges, and 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy to launder money.

Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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