South Jordan Woman Pleads Guilty To Money Laundering; Admits Embezzling $462,455.80 From Employer

  SALT LAKE CITY –  Monica Paris, age 30, of South Jordan, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering in federal court Monday, admitting she embezzled approximately $462,455.80 from Ultradent Products, Inc., her former employer.  She used the funds she embezzled from her employer to pay for personal expenses, including car payments, airline tickets, vacations, personal items, food, and entertainment, according to a Felony Information filed by federal prosecutors in January.
 
According to the Felony Information, Paris worked at Ultradent, a privately-owned Utah corporation involved in the production and distribution of dental products, from 1997 until her termination around February 2012.  Her last position at the company was assistant to the director of major accounts.

According to court documents, as a part of her job duties, Paris was responsible for purchasing promotional materials used by Ultradent.  The standard practice at the company involved Paris purchasing the items using her personal credit card and then seeking reimbursement for charges she had incurred on the company’s behalf.

As a part of her guilty plea Monday, Paris admitted that beginning around August 2010 and continuing through February 2012, she fraudulently submitted expense reports for personal reimbursement payments for items she never actually purchased. She then fraudulently approved the expense reports on behalf of Ultradent and directed that the reimbursement payments be sent to her personal bank account.   She also admitted that she fraudulently claimed that personal items she purchased at Sam’s Club, including large amounts of pre-paid credit cards, were company expenses for which she sought reimbursement payments.  Using her Sam’s Club membership, she admitted she bought personal items using the credit cards of two other company employees. She then submitted the purchases for reimbursement and created false invoices to show that the purchases were for company expenses.

Paris admitted that in August 2011, she sent a check for $10,891.29 to her credit union as payment for a car loan. She admitted she knew that the funds she transferred were stolen from her employer.

Sentencing in the case is set for June 27, 2013, at 2:30 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart.  The potential maximum sentence for a money laundering conviction is 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
 
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City and investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation Division special agents.