Former Bookkeeper Indicted for Stealing Monies through Fraudulent Means and Impersonation of a Federal Officer

Jackson, TN – Krystle Sheals, 32, of Marion, Arkansas, has been indicted on federal charges of devising a scheme to defraud and obtain money and funds through false pretenses and the impersonation of a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. D. Michael Dunavant, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee announced the indictment today.

Sheals, a former bookkeeper with Nichols Fire and Security (NFS) in Memphis, Tennessee, is charged with using her access to her employer’s bank accounts to pay personal bills and expenses, including personal credit card payments, personal utility payments, car payments, school loan payments, and mortgage payments. While using NFS funds, Sheals is also charged with the purchase of an automobile, which she then gave to an individual in Henry County, Tennessee, and opening a retirement 401K account. The funds stolen amount to approximately $327,000.

Sheals is additionally charged with falsely assuming and pretending to be an officer and employee of the United States, namely a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Sheals falsely stated to others that she was a federal agent; wore and possessed clothing, articles and insignia of the FBI; possessed and presented documents, business cards and identification purporting to be an FBI agent; and conducted interviews while falsely purporting to be an FBI employee.

A federal grand jury in Jackson, Tennessee returned an eleven-count indictment against Sheals on October 16, 2017, but the indictment remained under seal until Sheal’s initial court appearance. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Sheals on October 17, 2017, in Shelby County, Tennessee.

If convicted, Sheals faces up the twenty years imprisonment on the wire fraud charges and up to three years imprisonment on the impersonation charges, in addition to up to three years supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Wilson is prosecuting this case on the government’s behalf.

The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.