Source: United States Department of Justice News
TULSA, Okla. – A woman was sentenced Wednesday in federal court for stealing $429, 732 from a veteran-owned small business in operation for 38 years, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Carol A. Broyles, 49, of Tulsa, to 27 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. She was further ordered to pay $429,732 in restitution to the business owners.
“Carol Broyles embezzled almost $430,000 from her employers, who treated her like family,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “She repaid them by violating their trust and gambling away their hard-earned profits. She will now spend more than two years in prison to account for her corrupt actions.”
Broyles pleaded guilty on Nov. 3, 2021, to wire fraud and to subscribing to a false tax return. She admitted that while employed at a small business in Tulsa from January 2012, through October 2016, she devised a scheme to misappropriate the businesses’ funds to enrich herself and to pay for personal expenses. She used her access to the company’s cash collections to take funds, and she cashed several checks from the company’s account.
Broyles further admitted that she did not report the misappropriated funds on her 2015 tax form. Boyles knowingly failed to report $86,081 in stolen funds, and signed the form under penalty of perjury.
At sentencing, the victims described the financial devastation incurred because of Broyles’ criminal acts. Additionally, Assistant U.S. Attorney Reagan Reininger pointed to Broyles’ lack of personal accountability. She noted that Broyles claimed to have stolen the money to pay for expensive family medical bills, but instead Broyles spent nearly all the money gambling. She further noted that since Broyles became aware of the criminal investigation and throughout criminal proceedings, Broyles made little to no effort to make any restitution to the victims.
IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Reagan V. Reininger prosecuted the case.