Lee’s Summit Woman Pleads Guilty to $1.5 Million Embezzlement Schemes, Identity Theft
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Lee’s Summit, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to a series of embezzlement schemes totaling more than $1.5 million.
Patricia Webb, 44, of Lee’s Summit, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to three counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Webb has been in federal custody since her bond was revoked by the court for unrelated fraudulent conduct.
By pleading guilty today, Webb admitted that she embezzled at least $1,526,594 in total from Garmin International, Black and Veatch and TriStar Benefit Administrators.
Garmin Embezzlement Scheme
Webb admitted that she embezzled $1,255,175 million from Garmin while employed as a senior payroll specialist.
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Webb caused Garmin to send 16 unauthorized Automated Clearing House payments (fund transfers, such as direct deposits and business-to-business payments) to her own business bank account (under the corporate name Beauty Within Me) from Feb. 24, 2012, to May 30, 2014. The payments were sent on behalf of then-current employees who were utilizing Garmin’s relocation program. Webb caused Garmin funds to be recorded to the in-transit employee’s W-2, under the code “P,” which was inflated to mask Webb’s embezzlement. After the clearing of the ACH payments, Webb would alter Garmin’s general ledger to reflect the fraudulent payments as “Relocation Expenses.”
Black and Veatch Embezzlement Scheme
Webb admitted that she embezzled $302,183 from Black and Veatch while employed as a global payroll manager. Webb was employed by Black and Veatch from January 2015 until March 4, 2016 and earned $90,000 per year. Webb facilitated unauthorized wire transfers and ACH transactions from the company’s payroll account to her Beauty Within Me business bank account.
An analysis of Webb’s bank account shows a large amount of spending at casinos and cash withdrawals at casinos.
TriStar Embezzlement Scheme
Webb admitted that she stole the identity of another employee while she was working at Garmin in order to embezzle $7,385 from TriStar Benefit Administrators, the company which managed Garmin’s healthcare savings accounts.
Webb used the personal identifiable information of another Garmin employee to create a flexible spending account without his knowledge or consent. Webb submitted a request for reimbursement to TriStar in the name of this employee on July 18, 2011. The request was for hospital treatment in the amount of $7,385 and the payment from TriStar was sent to Webb’s bank account.
Under federal statutes, Webb is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole on each count of wire fraud, plus a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in federal prison for aggravated identity theft. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker. It was investigated by the FBI.
