Melissa Day Morton, Embezzlement, Oklahoma 2017

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - In a shocking case of corporate betrayal, Melissa Day Morton, a former employee of the Oklahoma Beef Council, has been sentenced to 57 months in federal prison for her role in embezzling a staggering $2.68 million from the organization.

Morton, a resident of Edmond, Oklahoma, was found guilty of bank fraud and signing a false federal income tax return. The charges stem from her time as the Accounting and Compliance Manager at the Oklahoma Beef Council, a position she held from October 1995 until late July 2016.

As part of her job, Morton was responsible for preparing checks, paying invoices, and generating financial statements for audits. However, in February 2016, she used her position to forge the signature of the Beef Council's executive director on a check made payable to herself in the amount of $5,652.25.

Morton pleaded guilty to the charges on May 24, 2017, and stipulated that the total loss to the Beef Council was $2,681,400.73. She also admitted to signing a false tax return, omitting over $388,000 of embezzled income from her 2014 return.

On February 5, 2018, Morton must report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving her sentence. In addition to her prison time, she has been ordered to pay restitution of $2,317,526.32 to the Beef Council, $110,000 to an insurance company, and $617,044 to the Internal Revenue Service for taxes owed from not reporting the embezzlement income on her federal tax returns.

The investigation into Morton's embezzlement was a joint effort between the United States Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, and the United States Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris M. Stephens prosecuted the case.

As the court's decision makes clear, corporate embezzlement will not be tolerated. We commend the investigators and prosecutors who worked tirelessly to bring Morton to justice.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdok/pr/former-oklahoma-beef-council-employee-sentenced-57-months-268-million-embezzlement-and