waters indictment
FORMER ROSEDALE RESIDENT INDICTED FOR EMBEZZLING OVER $490,000
BATON ROUGE, LA – United States Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux, Jr. announced that a federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging THERESA G. WATERS, age 45, formerly of Rosedale, Louisiana, and currently a resident of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with embezzlement from an employee benefit plan, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 644.
The Indictment alleges that WATERS began working for the South Central Laborers Training and Apprenticeship Fund (the “SCLTAF”), in Livonia, Louisiana, in September of 2003. The SCLTAF was an employee welfare benefit fund for the benefit of various union contractors throughout Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma. The Indictment alleges that beginning in or about December of 2004 and continuing until in or about October of 2008, WATERS devised a scheme to embezzle from the SCLTAF by, among other things, making personal purchases and charges using her SCLTAF-issued credit card and then using SCLTAF funds to pay for the purchases. The Indictment also alleges that WATERS concealed her scheme by altering the SCLTAF’s credit card statements as they were received and maintaining a set of fraudulently-altered statements that omitted any reference to her purchases. The Indictment alleges that WATERS embezzled approximately $490,700 through her scheme.
If convicted, WATERS could receive a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain derived from the offense. The court may also order restitution.
Roger Hilburn, Dallas Regional Director of the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, said, “I hope this sends a clear message to all who sponsor or transact business with employee benefit plans that the federal government will aggressively pursue those who commit crimes against employees and retirees of private-sector pension and health plans."
The case was investigated by the United States Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration and the Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s Office, with valuable assistance from the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office and the United States Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Alan Stevens and René Salomon.
NOTE: An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that an offense has been committed by the defendant. The defendant, of course, are presumed innocent until and unless they are proven guilty at trial.
