Sacramento Woman Pleads Guilty to $600k Wire Fraud

OAKLAND – In a stunning revelation of corporate espionage, Consuelo “Connie” Puente, 44, of Sacramento, was sentenced today to four years imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution totaling $779,854.53 for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. United States Attorney Melinda Haag, along with Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge José M. Martinez, announced the sentence.

Puente pleaded guilty on December 4, 2014, admitting her role in a multi-year scheme that bilked over $600,000 from her employer. Court documents reveal that Puente, while employed by a Concord, Calif., company from May 19, 2008, to June 18, 2013, devised a fraudulent payroll system that saw her receive wages paid under the names of former employees.

Operating in the payroll department as the sole handler of payroll, Puente obtained personal identifying information from three ex-employees. She altered their records to reflect current employment status, diverting funds into her own bank account. The scheme resulted in $627,907.53 being transferred into Puente’s accounts, with an additional $84,362.45 paid to the IRS for withholdings.

In addition, Puente prepared fraudulent W-2 forms and filed false tax returns for 2009 through 2013, omitting the stolen funds, leading to a $151,987 tax liability. She was indicted on March 18, 2014, charged with three counts of wire fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft, but pleaded guilty to one count of each.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, United States District Court Judge, also sentenced Puente to a three-year period of supervised release and restitution. The defendant will begin serving her sentence immediately while in custody.

The prosecution was the outcome of an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation and the Concord Police Department, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jose A. Olivera and Thomas Moore handling the case.