Former Bookkeeper at Local Real Estate Company Pleads Guilty to Forgery

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – TAMI LEE JOHNSON, of Midwest City, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty yesterday to check forgery, in connection with approximately $624,265.01 of embezzlement from a local real estate management company, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

On April 25, 2017, Johnson was charged by information with one count of a forged security. From January 2012 until August 2015, Johnson was the bookkeeper and office manager at an Edmond real estate management company. As part of her job, Johnson had access to bank accounts belonging to her employer. Yesterday, Johnson pleaded guilty to preparing an unauthorized company check, in the amount of $2,226.00, to herself, in February 2014. She admitted that she did not have her employer’s permission to issue the check and that she forged the signature of her boss and then cashed the check for herself. As part of her plea, Johnson further admitted that she embezzled funds from her former employer from January 2012 through August 2015, and she stipulated that the total loss to the real estate management company from her embezzlement scheme was $624,265.01.

At sentencing, Johnson faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine, in addition to paying restitution to the victim. Johnson will be sentenced on August 29, 2017. Reference is made to the information and other public filings for further information.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney K. McKenzie Anderson.