Former Office Manager Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Over $300K

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Norfolk woman pleaded guilty today to an embezzlement scheme that resulted in a loss of over $300,000.

According to court documents, Evelyn Gregory, 49, worked as the office manager of a women’s health clinic from 2007 through April 2016, and had access to multiple office credit cards which she misappropriated for her own use without the practice’s knowledge or consent. During this time Gregory incurred $250,000 in unauthorized purchases of office credit cards. As Gregory’s scheme progressed, she stopped paying office expenses, which caused the practice to accrue debts of which the owners were not aware due to the fact that Gregory concealed her activities by withholding credit card statements from the practice’s accountants. In the latter years of her tenure, Gregory started a debt collection company to which she referred debts owed to the practice without the owner’s knowledge or consent. Gregory and her son operated this company, and aggressively pursued patients for payment, collecting nearly $50,000 in funds owed to the practice.  Gregory did not use the collected funds to satisfy the patients’ debt, instead charging the debt off the practice’s books and depositing the collected funds into her personal accounts.

Gregory pleaded guilty to money laundering and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on September 12. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Kelly R. Jackson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Joseph Cronin, Acting Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian J. Samuels and Kaitlin Gratton Cooke are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:18-cr-21.