Kimberly Pitts, Wire Fraud, CO 2023

KIMBERLY PITTS, 48, of Pueblo, Colorado, is going to federal prison for stealing more than three-quarters of a million dollars from a medical practice she was hired to manage. Pitts was sentenced last week to 41 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to wire fraud and filing a false tax return. The heist spanned more than four years, during which Pitts bled Associates in Gastroenterology (AG) dry through a calculated scheme of fraud and deception.

According to court records, Pitts began her theft spree in February 2011, shortly after being hired as office manager at AG, and continued until May 30, 2015. Over that time, she siphoned at least $768,439 from the practice. She charged luxury goods and personal expenses to company credit cards, then had AG bank accounts cover the bills. She even obtained a new company card without authorization and used it like a personal piggy bank. Fraudulent checks, disguised as vendor payments, were written and deposited into her own accounts. She also transferred funds directly from AG’s bank and retirement accounts into her personal coffers.

But the theft didn’t stop with the business. Pitts also defrauded the IRS. She filed a false federal income tax return for 2014, swearing under penalty of perjury that it was accurate—knowing full well it omitted the illicit income she’d stolen from AG. As a result, she’s now on the hook for $382,014.58 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, on top of the $768,439 she must repay to AG.

U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer didn’t mince words: ‘Our prosecutor and our IRS and FBI partners did an exceptional job ensuring that this thief’s victims – including American taxpayers – got justice in this case.’ The case, he said, wasn’t just about one woman stealing from her employer—it was about accountability for a crime that ripples through the system, hitting both private business and public trust.

Steven Osborne, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in Denver, emphasized the complexity of financial fraud. ‘The role of IRS Criminal Investigation becomes even more apparent in embezzlement and fraud cases due to the complex financial transactions that must be unraveled,’ he said. ‘The federal tax laws are normally violated in these cases which can add to additional jail time. As we often see, the victims are not only the taxpayers, but also the individuals and entities who suffer the financial harm.’

FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Calvin Shivers issued a blunt warning: ‘The recent sentencing of Kimberly Pitts should send a strong message to anyone considering engaging in embezzlement or wire fraud.’ The FBI, he said, will keep working with partners to protect businesses from insiders who betray their trust. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Sibert prosecuted the case, closing a chapter on a multi-year fraud that ended not with a quiet resignation—but with handcuffs and a prison sentence.