NEWS RELEASE
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
Julia C. Dudley United States Attorney Brian McGinn Public Affairs Specialist |
BB&T Building 310 1st Street, S.W., Room 906 Roanoke, Virginia 24011 (540) 857-2974 FAX (540) 857-2179 |
April 30, 2009
FORMER CALL CENTER EMPLOYEE INDICTED FOR WIRE FRAUD
Sheila Mae Hairston is Accused of Stealing More Than $109,000
United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley announced today the unsealing of an indictment charging Sheila Mae Hairston, age 47, of Axton, Virginia, with 26 counts of wire fraud.
Hairston was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke on April 23, 2009. The Grand Jury has charged Hairston with 26 counts of wire fraud relating to her employment as a customer service representative at the GSI Commerce Call Center in Martinsville, Virginia.
According to the indictment, beginning in April 2006 and continuing through April 2008, Hairston fraudulently credited her personal checking accounts with funds intended for GSI customers’ credit card accounts. The defendant did this without authorization from the customers.
In order to perpetuate her scheme, Hairston would access GSI customer account information and submit a false refund claim, without the customers’ authorization. She would then divert the fraudulent refunded monies to her personal checking account. The grand jury has charged the defendant with making 190 such transactions, causing $109,684 to be fraudulently deposited into her checking accounts.
If convicted on all counts, the maximum penalty faced by the defendant is 20 years incarceration and/or a fine of up to $250,000, for each count. A trial date has not been schedule for this case. The defendant remains free on a personal recognizance bond.
The investigation of this case was conducted by United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Charlene R. Day is prosecuting the case for the United States.
A Grand Jury indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.