Florida Woman Swindles Ohio Firm Out of $1 Million

DAYTON – A quiet life in Florida couldn’t hide a decade of deceit. Deborah Yosick, 60, currently of Davenport, Florida, has pleaded guilty to a brazen scheme that saw her pilfer more than $1 million from a family-owned Ohio business. The former accountant admitted to one count each of wire fraud and income tax evasion in U.S. District Court.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman, IRS Special Agent in Charge Kathy A. Enstrom, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Angela L. Byers announced the guilty plea entered yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sharon L. Ovington. The target? Donald C. Wright Investments, LLC and its sister company, Don Wright Realty, LLC – businesses deeply rooted in Centerville, Ohio, providing commercial, industrial, and residential services throughout the Dayton area.

Court documents paint a picture of systematic theft stretching back to approximately 1985 and continuing until October 2015. As Don Wright’s accountant, Yosick held the keys to the company’s financial lifeblood, handling accounts payable and receivable, managing journal entries, and overseeing deposits. But between 2010 and 2015, that trust was shattered. Yosick began diverting rental payments to cover her personal American Express bill, initiating ACH transfers from company accounts. She supplemented this by purchasing money orders at supermarkets, Walmarts, and post offices to further fuel her spending.

The scheme was remarkably persistent. Over approximately five years, Yosick orchestrated roughly 70 electronic transfers – ACH payments – directly from Don Wright’s bank account to American Express, all to settle her personal credit card bills. The total haul? A staggering $1,098,778.23. But the deception didn’t stop there. Between March 2013 and October 2015, she compounded the fraud by filing a false 2014 income tax return, underreporting her taxable income by $303,808, avoiding approximately $94,601 in taxes.

In total, Yosick attempted to evade $255,571 in federal income taxes across the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 tax years. As part of the plea agreement, Yosick has agreed to pay restitution of $1,098,778.23 to Don Wright Realty LLC and $255,571 to the IRS. The penalties for her crimes are substantial: up to 20 years imprisonment for wire fraud and up to 5 years for income tax evasion.

“Tax evasion and embezzlement schemes of this magnitude and with this degree of trickery, dishonesty and deceit, deserves to be punished,” stated IRS Special Agent in Charge Kathy A. Enstrom. “The IRS, FBI, and U.S. Attorney’s Office remain determined and vigilant in ferreting out such schemes to cheat the honest taxpayers.” U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the collaborative law enforcement effort and Assistant United States Attorney Alex R. Sistla, who prosecuted the case.