Mary Williams, Embezzlement, California 2016

State: California
Category: White Collar Crime
Source: <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/former-fresno-ceo-sentenced-year-prison-embezzling-over-500000-pension-plan" style="color:#cc0000;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DOJ Press Release ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€

Fresno, CA – In a shocking case of corporate greed, 70-year-old Mary Williams, former CEO of Aeroplate Corporation, was sentenced to one year in prison for embezzling over $500,000 from a pension plan established for the company’s employees.

Williams, who was the Chief Executive Officer of Aeroplate, an engineering and contracting firm in Fresno, California, pleaded guilty to the embezzlement on January 17, 2017. According to court documents, she embezzled approximately $509,000 from the pension plan between June 2011 and November 2016.

The pension plan’s assets included a set of real estate parcels in Fresno that was once appraised at over $900,000 in value. However, Williams and the company used the properties to raise money for the company, eventually leading to foreclosure and the insolvency of the fund.

Under federal law, assets belonging to pension plans can only be used to fund the plan, which must pay future benefits to employees, and not the business that started the plan. Williams’ actions not only harmed the employees who relied on the pension plan but also put the financial security of the company at risk.

U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd ordered Williams to pay $509,405 in restitution to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). The PBGC protects employees from losing their benefits when their plans are insolvent.

This case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefit Security Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael G. Tierney prosecuted the case.

Williams’ sentence sends a strong message that corporate executives who engage in such egregious crimes will be held accountable. The people of Fresno deserve to know that those who betray their trust will face the full weight of the law.

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