Jasmyne Botelho, Embezzlement, Massachusetts 2023

Grimy Times Exclusive: Dartmouth Woman Indicted for Embezzling Hundreds of Thousands from Employers

In a shocking case of corporate betrayal, Jasmyne Botelho, a 41-year-old resident of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston for allegedly embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from two different employers.

Botelho was charged with two counts of wire fraud, a charge that carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes governing the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

According to the charging documents, between September 2017 and April 2020, Botelho stole at least $280,000 from her employer. Specifically, it is alleged that Botelho directed payments purportedly intended for the company’s vendors to bank accounts she controlled and used company funds to make payments on personal credit cards and an auto loan. To hide her scheme, Botelho allegedly falsified her employer’s books and records to make it appear as though the payments had in fact been sent to legitimate vendors rather than to Botelho.

It is further alleged that, between May 2022 and December 2023, Botelho improperly inflated her payroll from another employer by more than $160,000. Botelho allegedly concealed her scheme by manipulating her employer’s payroll and accounting software to hide her inflated payroll as well as phony “reimbursements” she paid herself.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen A. Kearney of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.

The case is a stark reminder of the importance of corporate accountability and the need for employers to implement robust internal controls to prevent similar schemes from occurring in the future.

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