Evansville woman stole $1.8 million from employer in years-long scheme

November 12

EVANSVILLE — An Evansville woman orchestrated a years-long financial fraud scheme that bilked her employer out of more than $1.8 million — a graft so brazen and well-documented that she entered a petition to plead guilty the same day she was charged.

On Nov. 6, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana unveiled a six-count indictment accusing Marcie J. Doty of exploiting her managerial position at an unnamed Evansville business to commit wire fraud and tax crimes.

That same day, Doty submitted a petition to plead guilty as charged, according to legal filings. In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors stated that Doty had taken “personal responsibility” for her crimes.

Evansville-based attorney Barry Blackard, who serves as Doty’s legal counsel alongside attorney Dennis Brinkmeyer, did not comment on the case when reached by phone Monday evening.

While a jury trial that could publicly reveal the inner workings of Doty’s fraud now appears unlikely, court records do shed some light on what prosecutors said was her years-long effort to steal her employer’s money.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew B. Miller, Doty issued nearly 100 unauthorized checks and money transfers on behalf of the unnamed Evansville business between 2017 and 2022 — transactions that left a trail of records at financial institutions.

In total, prosecutors accused Doty of stealing approximately $1,803,466 by depositing the unauthorized checks and transfers into personal bank accounts at German American Bank and Evansville Federal Credit Union.

“As one example, on or about Feb. 5, 2021, Doty issued an unauthorized check in the amount of $10,059.30 to herself,” Miller wrote in the complaint. “Doty deposited the check into her account at German American Bank that same day.”

As required by banking regulations, German American sent an image of the check and relevant data about the transaction to a Federal Reserve Bank as part of the check-clearing process, prosecutors explained.

According to Miller, accounting software used by Doty’s employer also recorded the thefts. Doty, however, falsified data she entered into the software in an effort to cover her tracks, prosecutors said, labeling the unauthorized transfers as business expenses.

Doty pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in connection with the Feb. 5, 2021, transaction. Doty’s remaining charges stem from what Miller described as her “willful” failure to report her ill-gotten gains on federal tax returns.

Between 2018 and 2020, Doty failed to report approximately $786,280 in income, according to the complaint. During the next two years, she hid more than $1 million in taxable income by failing to file tax returns, a legal filing states.

Doty pleaded guilty to three counts of filing a false tax return and two counts of failing to file a tax return. The government will seek an order to recoup the roughly $1.8 million, which Doty will have to repay based on a court-determined schedule. Additionally, Doty agreed to pay the Internal Revenue Service $577,324 in restitution.

In the event Doty can’t pay up, the government “may take any and all actions necessary to collect the maximum amount of restitution in the most expeditious manner available,” prosecutors wrote.

Wire fraud carries a maximum possible sentence of 20 years, but prosecutors are advocating for a substantially shorter term. According to Doty’s plea agreement, she faces a recommend sentence of between 41 and 51 months.

Because Doty quickly pleaded guilty, prosecutors recommended that she receive a sentence at “the low end of the guideline range,” provided she does not commit a new crime or violate the terms of her pretrial release.

Judge Richard L. Young will sentence Doty during a yet-to-be scheduled hearing. Federal judges have broad discretion to sentence defendants as they see fit and are not bound to follow recommendations from prosecutors.

The U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services System conducts pre-sentence investigations to aid judges in determining appropriate sentences.

Houston Harwood covers criminal justice issues for the Courier & Press, reporting on the people, policies, and cases that shape our legal system. Reach him at *****@*****.tld.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville woman pleads guilty in $1.8 million embezzlement case

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