A Putnam County resident who admitted to stealing $156,734.76 from three small businesses where she worked as a part-time bookkeeper was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution to the victims.
Alicia Merritt, 48, of Eatonton, was sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self III after previously pleading guilty to one count of bank fraud. Merritt was also ordered to repay the victims $146,660.66 in restitution. There is no parole in the federal system.
“The defendant has admitted her wrongdoing and has been held accountable for deceiving three local businesses in her community,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary in a news release.
“Whether a trusted employee steals $100,000 or $1,000,000, fraud ultimately harms lives and can hurt a community, as seen in this case.”
We want to protect hardworking citizens and do everything in our power to stop fraud and restore justice in collaboration with our law enforcement partners.”
“Hopefully, this sentencing makes a statement that the FBI is committed to making cases like this a strong deterrent to the temptation of greed,” said Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta Keri Farley.
“Merritt not only defrauded the companies she worked for; she also violated the trust they placed in her, and for that, she will be held accountable.”
According to court documents, Merritt’s theft from Willow Oaks Landscape was discovered by the company’s owner in February 2020.
Merritt worked as the bookkeeper for the family-owned business for a decade, and the owner trusted her “completely,” delegating payroll, vendor payments, reimbursements, and credit card access to her.
When the company started losing money, the owner assumed it was due to something else and didn’t suspect Merritt.
However, from March 2019 to February 2020, Merritt wrote checks to vendors, to herself for reimbursements that did not exist, cut payroll checks for former employees and cashed them for herself in the amount of $108,068.45.
Merritt also admitted to charging $5,382.90 on the company credit card for personal expenses during the same period.
Merritt also worked part-time managing business finances for two Eatonton businesses, The Meat Shed and Vape on the Lake.
Merritt was tasked with handling the businesses’ business tax payments to the Georgia Department of Revenue and the IRS.
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Merritt devised a scheme in early 2019, convincing the owner that she could better manage his tax payments if he wrote her checks for the amount owed and she paid the tax to the appropriate revenue agency.
Merritt’s demands escalated in late 2019, with the owner being forced to make multiple large payments to resolve alleged tax payment deadlines, keeping the money for herself and not paying the taxes owed. Merritt stole at least $33,209.31 from these companies in total.
The FBI looked into the case. For the government, the case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joy Odom.
