Former dow jones employee sentenced to 24 months in prison for stealing more than $400,000 from the company
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
December 12, 2011 |
TRENTON, N.J. – A former employee of Dow Jones & Company was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for stealing more than $400,000 while employed at a company office in Monmouth Junction, N.J., U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Jacqueline Bucco, 33, of Bensalem, Pa., previously pleaded guilty to an Information charging her with one count of wire fraud. Bucco entered her guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson, who also imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From March 2009 through March 2011, Bucco was employed as a fulfillment staff assistant in Dow Jones’ Monmouth Junction office, where she processed sales orders received from Dow Jones customers into the company’s internal systems. She also handled billing inquiries and adjustments to customer accounts.
Bucco admitted that she accessed a dormant internal Dow Jones system that contained company funds and initiated transfers from the system to three bank accounts she controlled for her personal use. Bucco stole $429,210 from Dow Jones, much of which she spent on personal items, such as:
• a Harley Davidson Sportster motorcycle;
• 25 Coach items, including suitcases, purses, and checkbooks;
• a Louis Vuitton purse and wallet;
• two Apple iPads and two Apple iPods;
• a Kindle;
• an X-Box Kinect;
• a Motorola Droid;
• a Nikon digital camera;
• a Meade telescope;
• a Sony handycam;
• two JBL 500-series speakers;
• a 32-inch Polaroid TV-DVD combination player;
• four guitars, including 3 Gibson Les Paul guitars and 1 Sterling guitar;
• two pairs of sunglasses, including Salvatore Ferragamo and Coach brands;
• jewelry – including five necklaces, eight bracelets, two pairs of earnings, and three rings;
• two dresses from David’s Bridal, including a wedding dress; and
• a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes
In addition to the prison term, Judge Thompson sentenced Bucco to three years of supervised release and ordered her to pay $429,210 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jacob F. Christine, for the investigation leading to today’s sentence.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Mendelsohn of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Joshua D. Altman Esq., New Brunswick, N.J.
