Greer Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison, Ordered to Pay $2M in Restitution

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Jennifer L. Bengston Cook, 56, of Greer, was sentenced to three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud. She was also ordered to pay $2.2 million in restitution.

According to statements made in court, Cook was a part-time bookkeeper for a small business in Duncan for more than a decade.  During her employment she wrote checks to herself from the company’s bank accounts without permission and deposited them into her personal bank account. To disguise her theft, in the business’ ledger she listed the checks as void, and in QuickBooks she listed the checks as either void, paid to other employees, or paid to vendors.  On the memo line of some of the checks, she wrote it was for payroll and listed the payroll dates. In some instances, she paid herself three payroll checks for the same pay period. On some checks, she wrote on the memo line that it was a reimbursement. Cook also used the company's bank account to pay her personal credit card bills.

The criminal conduct was discovered when Cook was on vacation and her supervisor needed to find a record of a vendor payment.  After the discovery, Cook's employment was terminated, and law enforcement was notified.  She was charged with multiple counts of wire fraud in federal court. 

U.S. District Judge Jacquelin D. Austin presided over the case and sentenced Cook to 36 months in federal prison and ordered her to pay $2,276,830.09 in restitution. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Watkins handled this prosecution.

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