Jessica J. Lucas, Wire Fraud, Washington District of Columbia 2020

WASHINGTON D.C. – In a shocking turn of events, Jessica J. Lucas, 43, of Washington D.C., was sentenced to two years in prison for committing a brazen wire fraud scheme against her employer, a company that owns restaurants in the Washington metropolitan area.

According to court papers, Lucas, who was employed as a bookkeeper and cash handler for a restaurant in downtown Washington, implemented a scheme to steal from her employer between January 1, 2015, and February 28, 2018. Lucas was responsible for ensuring that the restaurant had sufficient cash in its safe and bars to conduct the restaurant’s business of serving food and beverages to customers.

As part of her employment, Lucas frequently ordered cash from the company’s financial institution in order for the restaurant to have a “cash fund,” which was supposed to be used to provide change to customers who paid in cash rather than by credit card. However, Lucas regularly ordered more cash than was needed for operation of the restaurant, and then stole a portion of the cash ordered and deposited the cash into her personal bank accounts.

Lucas also falsified monthly “change fund reconciliation reports” that she sent to company management in which she reported that there was more cash on hand than was actually in the safe. This scheme ultimately resulted in Lucas stealing over $364,000 from her employer.

Lucas pled guilty in February 2020 to one count of wire fraud in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Today, she was sentenced by the Honorable Thomas F. Hogan. In addition to her prison term, the Court ordered Lucas to pay restitution in the amount of $364,004, as well as a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $364,004. Following her prison term, she will be placed on three years of supervised release.

Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division Robert Bornstein, and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, commended the work performed by those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the MPD. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Gorman and Diane Lucas, also worked on the case with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Chad Byron, and former Paralegal Specialist C. Rosalind Pressley.

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