Pinole Woman Sentenced To More Than Two Years In Prison For Wire Fraud Embezzlement Scheme

SAN FRANCISCO – Sherryl Santos-Tan was sentenced to 25 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution for wire fraud after defrauding her former employer and another individual of more than $300,000, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and United States Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Thomas C. Edwards.  The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Edward M. Chen, U.S. District Judge. 

Santos-Tan, 36, of Pinole, pleaded guilty to the charges on October 18, 2019.  According to her plea agreement, Santos-Tan admitted that over the course of more than two years she executed a scheme by which she defrauded her former employer and another individual by  exploiting her access to credit cards and other funds that belonged to the employer.  Santos-Tan admitted she diverted money to accounts under her control and made purchases for her personal use.  Further, she admitted she used the stolen money at casinos and for other personal expenditures such as funding prepaid charge cards.  She also admitted she concealed her actions by falsifying and manipulating information in expense reports.  Santos-Tan acknowledged that the money and property she obtained through this scheme totaled more than $300,000.  

A federal grand jury indicted Santos-Tan on July 18, 2019, charging her with six counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A.  Santos-Tan pleaded guilty to the wire fraud counts and the identity theft count was dismissed. 

In addition to the prison term, Judge Chen sentenced the defendant to a three-year period of supervised release to begin at the completion of the prison term, and ordered her to pay restitution to the victims of her crimes.  Judge Chen ordered the defendant to surrender on or before April 21, 2020, to begin serving her prison term.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Cheng is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Morgan Byrne.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Secret Service.