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Charleston Woman Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding Local Businesses
Misty Brotherton-Tanner, 41, of Charleston, has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for the felony offenses of wire fraud and money laundering. The sentence was handed down by Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.
Brotherton-Tanner was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $537,173. She pleaded guilty to the charges in April 2021.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Brotherton-Tanner provided bookkeeping and accounting services for several local businesses in the Charleston area. From at least 2014 until 2020, she devised a scheme to defraud these businesses.
Brotherton-Tanner would electronically transfer money and move the electronic transactions between accounts in such a way as to hide her fraud under the guise of legitimate transactions. She was not permitted to pay herself from these business accounts, but she set up fraudulent accounts in the name of fictional workers and even misrepresented that she had paid state and federal taxes for the businesses when she had not done so.
Throughout the scheme, Brotherton-Tanner moved the transferred money into her personal checking accounts. In total, she defrauded various businesses of $537,173.
Brotherton-Tanner’s mother, Lois Brotherton, also pleaded guilty in connection with her role in the scheme and was sentenced to a period of probation.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and the West Virginia State Tax Department-Criminal Investigation Division for their excellent work in this case.
Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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