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Press Release

Waukon Office Manager Pleads Guilty in Six-Year Embezzlement Scheme

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Iowa
Stole Over $200,000 from Northeast Iowa Tax Preparation Business

An office manager who stole over $200,000 from her employer, a Northeast Iowa tax preparation business, pled guilty July 19, 2023, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Heather Leigh Migliore, age 51, from Waukon, Iowa, was convicted of one count of wire fraud.

At the plea hearing, and in a plea agreement, Migliore admitted that, from January 2015, through November 2021, she stole no less than $200,000 from her employer, a tax preparation business with offices in Waukon and Decorah, Iowa.  Migliore was the business’s office manager and had responsibility for its finances, including making payroll and paying bills.  Migliore used a signature stamp of the owner of the business to write and sign checks to herself.  To cover up her scheme, Migliore then deleted the checks from the business’s electronic bookkeeping system.  Beginning in July 2019, Migliore also made over $20,000 in fraudulent credit card charges on the business’s credit cards.  Migliore used the stolen funds to pay her personal expenses. 

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Migliore remains free on bond.  Migliore faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and was investigated by the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl

The case file number is 23-CR-1015. 

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Updated July 21, 2023

Topic
Financial Fraud