ST. LOUIS – A brazen scheme to pilfer $165,000 from a local publishing house culminated this week with the extradition of Sarah Lynn Tweedie, 49, from Scotland. Tweedie, formerly known as Sarah Jauregui, now faces a litany of federal charges after years spent attempting to evade justice.
Tweedie was indicted on June 21, 2018, in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, facing three counts of mail fraud, five counts of wire fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. The indictment details a calculated effort to siphon funds from her employer, where she served as controller, overseeing payroll, expense reports, and bill payments.
Between July and January of 2018, Tweedie allegedly engaged in a spree of fraudulent activity. She racked up $138,137 in unauthorized purchases using both a company credit card and one belonging to a former employee. The spending wasn’t limited to office supplies; the indictment specifically mentions a Scottish kilt and a $1,239 upgrade to a premium seat on her flight from Chicago to Glasgow. She also allegedly diverted $6,400 through the purchase of Amazon gift cards. Beyond the purchases, she illicitly boosted her annual salary from $80,000 to $110,000 and submitted $16,086 in bogus expense reimbursements.
Court documents reveal a carefully constructed plan to abscond. Tweedie began a long-distance relationship with a Scottish man in 2015, becoming engaged in March of 2017 – just before accepting the controller position. In December 2017, she informed her employer her fiancé had been injured in a car accident, using the fabricated crisis as a pretext to leave. She’d already secured a visa to live in Scotland and had no intention of returning. She was arrested in Scotland on July 9, 2019, but fought the extradition process for years.
After her final appeal was denied in March, U.S. Marshals escorted Tweedie back to St. Louis. She appeared in court Tuesday and entered a plea of not guilty. A motion filed seeking to keep Tweedie detained until trial argued she was a clear flight risk, given her prior attempts to flee the country.
The Florissant Police Department and the FBI spearheaded the investigation, with crucial assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and Scottish authorities. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman is prosecuting the case. It is important to remember that the charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations, and Tweedie is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Related Federal Cases
- Ex-Controller Tweedie Extradited From Scotland in $165K Fraud · Missouri
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- Missouri Farmer Cropped $800K in Insurance Fraud · Iowa
- Leawood Attorney Schultz Pleads Guilty to $1.2M Fraud Conspiracy · Kansas
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Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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