INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.–An Indianapolis woman has been charged with wire fraud by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. U.S. Attorney Joshua Minkler’s office says Erica Howard, 30, was the former bookkeeper of a Franklin-based construction company and she defrauded the business of $315,000 during the two years she was employed.
Federal charges released on Friday indicate that Howard abused her access to online company accounts to pay over a dozen personal credit cards and buy electronics and other items on Amazon. According to court documents, in order to conceal her misdeeds, the suspect supposedly delivered false books to the company’s accountant, along with a set of phony bank statements that she had manipulated.
Howard’s apparent fraud was finally discovered when a business check bounced. By then, she had allegedly funneled over $315,000 in company money to herself. The company’s owners say they were forced to lay off workers and liquidate retirement savings to keep the business afloat.
If convicted, Howard faces up to 20 years in federal prison and an order to pay restitution for the full amount she stole.
