Hobart woman convicted of $800K theft from employer
Contributed By:The 411 News
Used administrative position to pay personal bills and create kickback scheme
Lucy Owens, age 41, of Hobart, Indiana was convicted late Friday night, on 7 counts of wire fraud, after a 5-day jury trial before District Court Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen.
According to records in the case, between 2010 and 2015, Owens diverted over $800,000 from her employer, a Hammond-based freight services company, through two schemes to defraud. Owens became an employee of the company in 2006.
In one scheme, Owens used her position as the company’s accounts payable clerk to fraudulently pay over $460,000 in personal credit card bills from the company’s bank account. Owens used the ill-gotten proceeds to pay for frequent family vacations, dining, clothing, jewelry, home improvements, and other items.
In the second scheme, Owens used her position as the administrator of the company’s diesel fuel card program to help two individuals obtain over $330,000 unauthorized cash advances at truck stops.
One of the individuals, Kirk Stroh, also from Hobart, Indiana, was a truck driver for a rival trucking company. Owens helped Stroh obtain over $290,000 in fraudulent cash advances at a truck stop in Lake Station, Indiana, in increments of $800 per day. Stroh, a co-defendant in the case, who previously pled guilty, split the proceeds with Owens.
Owens sentencing date is scheduled for October 3, 2018. Stroh is scheduled to be sentenced on September 6, 2018.
Story Posted:05/20/2018
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