Second employer she admitted to embezzling from

By U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California, Department of Justice

SAN FRANCISCO – Karen Posey was sentenced today to 36 months in prison, and ordered to pay restitution for stealing more than $200,000 from her former employer, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and FBI Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett.

Posey pleaded guilty on December 11, 2018 to four counts of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, and one count of access device fraud.  According to the plea agreement, Posey worked from July 2016-December 2017 as the business manager at a San Francisco-based architecture firm that designs schools and other public spaces nationwide with a focus on making them accessible to the disabled.  While employed there, Posey stole approximately $235,000 from the company.  She did so using various methods, including by writing unauthorized company checks to herself and then depositing them into her personal bank account, by using a corporate credit card to pay for personal expenses, and by using a corporate ATM card to withdraw large sums of cash.  In addition, as part of her plea agreement Posey admitted that, prior to working at the architecture firm, she worked at another San Francisco-based conservation company, where she embezzled more than $48,000 using similar means.

Posey, 58 of Martinez, CA, was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 30, 2018.  The seven count Indictment charged her with four counts of Wire Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 (Counts One through Four), one count of Aggravated Identity Theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A; one count of Bank Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344(2) (Count Six); and one count of Fraudulent Use of Unauthorized Access Devices, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1029(a)(2) (Count Seven).

The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Charles R. Breyer, U.S. District Court Judge.  Judge Breyer also sentenced the defendant to a three-year period of supervised release to begin at the completion of the prison term and ordered her to pay restitution to the two companies from which she stole money.  The defendant will begin serving the sentence on October 4, 2019.

Ross Weingarten is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Marina Ponomarchuk.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Tyler Goforth and Jesslyn Felix in a photo posted on his Facebook page Oct. 3, 2017.

Boyfriend, also of Walnut Creek, sentenced in August to 27 months in prison

By U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California, Department of Justice

SAN FRANCISCO/SAN JOSE/OAKLAND – Jesslyn Felix was sentenced today to 28 months in prison, and ordered to pay restitution for her role in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud stemming from a mail theft scheme, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and United States Postal Inspection Service Inspector in Charge Rafael Nuñez.  The Honorable Maxine M. Chesney, U.S. District Judge, handed down the sentence. (See related article).

Felix, 35, of Walnut Creek, Calif., pleaded guilty to the charge on May 29, 2019.  According to her plea agreement, Felix admitted that she and her co-defendant, Tyler Goforth, 35, also of Walnut Creek, traveled repeatedly to the Beacon Apartment Complex, a large apartment building in San Francisco, to steal mail from Beacon residents.  The defendants visited the Beacon more than a dozen times between August 2017 and February 2018.  Felix and Goforth would enter one of the mailrooms at the Beacon, force open mailboxes, and then steal mail.  They then used personal information and documents found in the stolen mail to steal money from Beacon residents, which they spent for personal gain.  Specifically, Felix and Goforth activated credit and debit cards in the victims’ names, stole checks and gift cards, accessed bank accounts belonging to Beacon residents, and stole photo identifications which they then used to carry out their scheme to steal money.  In total, Felix and Goforth stole mail from more than 80 residents of the Beacon and stole more than $40,000 from them.

Mr. Goforth was sentenced for his role in the conspiracy on August 14, 2019, to 27 months in prison, to be followed by a three-year period of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution.

A federal grand jury indicted Felix and Goforth on January 15, 2019.  The 14-count indictment charged each defendant with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349; five counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1343; six counts of theft of mail, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1708; one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1028A; and one count of possession with intent to use or transfer five or more documents or authentication features, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1028(a)(3).  Felix and Goforth both pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge on May 29, 2019.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesney ordered Felix to serve a three-year period of supervised release to begin at the completion of the prison term.  Felix has been in custody since May 1, 2019.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ross Weingarten is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Marina Ponomarchuk.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service.