Hollister Resident Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud Stemming From An Employee Embezzlement Scheme

SAN JOSE – Briana Irene Roy pleaded guilty in federal court in San Jose today to wire fraud stemming from an employee embezzlement scheme, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag.

In pleading guilty, Roy admitted that she had been employed in the marketing division of a local engineering company based in San Jose, Calif. She also admitted that she devised and implemented a scheme whereby she used a company credit card issued in the name of one of the company’s executives on approximately 80 separate occasions between March 2010 and February 2013. Using the company’s credit card, Roy made charges to her personal PayPal account for her personal benefit, and attempted to conceal these activities by generating fake invoices and receipts for products and services in the name of another San Jose business. Through this fraudulent scheme, Roy admitted that she attempted to gain funds to which she was not entitled in the amount of $247,387.45.

Roy, 38, of Hollister, Calif., was charged on Dec. 13, 2013, with one count of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18 United States Code Section, 1343. Under the plea agreement, Roy pleaded guilty to the single count and agreed to pay restitution for the full amount of the loss. Roy is currently released on bond. Bail was set previously at $50,000.

Roy’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 23, 2014, at 10:00 a.m., before the Honorable D. Lowell Jensen, Senior United States District Court Judge, in San Jose. The maximum statutory penalty for the single count in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 is 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, plus restitution in the agreed upon amount of $197,240.95. However, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Amie Rooney is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Tracey Andersen. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the United States Secret Service.

(Roy information )