Carrie Leigh Long, 52, of Ash Grove, Missouri, is facing 24 federal charges after allegedly stealing $362,175 from her Springfield employer through a years-long wire fraud and embezzlement scheme. The indictment, returned under seal by a federal grand jury on November 17 and unsealed upon her arrest, paints a picture of a trusted accountant who weaponized her position to bleed her employer dry.
Long, hired in April 2014, served as in-house accountant for Executive Coach Builders, Inc. and Executive Bus Builders, Inc., two luxury vehicle manufacturers based in Springfield with international reach. From February 2016 to September 2020, she exploited access to company check stock to write unauthorized checks payable to herself, forge signatures, and alter pre-signed checks—all while feeding false records to company leadership.
The scheme escalated beyond direct theft. Long failed to report the stolen funds as income on her personal tax returns from 2016 through 2020, dodging tax liability on the illicit gains. Worse, beginning in April 2019, she stopped forwarding employment tax payments owed to the IRS—causing the companies to default on approximately $902,226 in federal payroll taxes across three quarters in 2019 and 2020.
To cover her tracks, Long altered the companies’ bank statements and submitted falsified financial reports, falsely indicating tax payments had been made. When IRS agents moved to collect the delinquent taxes, she doubled down on the lie, producing manipulated documents to suggest compliance. The deception delayed detection and deepened the financial fallout for the businesses.
The 24-count indictment includes 17 counts of wire fraud, six counts of failure to pay employment taxes, one count of obstructing the administration of internal revenue laws, and five counts of filing false tax returns. Each wire fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. The tax-related charges carry additional prison time and penalties.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon Kempf and investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI. Long’s case underscores how trusted insiders can exploit financial roles to orchestrate devastating fraud. A trial jury will ultimately decide her guilt or innocence—until then, the charges remain allegations.
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Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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