CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Catawba, South Carolina woman pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $1.7 million from her employer over the course of about seven years.
The U.S. District Attorney's Office in Charlotte announced this week that 54-year-old Kristin Turney admitted to the crime. Court documents revealed she defrauded the Charlotte-based company she worked at from 2016 until 2023.
Turney reportedly was in charge of the company's financial matters, which included bank accounts, payroll, accounts payable and receivable, and tax filings. She misused her access and control to write company checks to herself without approval and deposited them into her own personal accounts.
Prosecutors said the roughly $1.7 million Turney embezzled took place over about 1,000 fraudulent transactions. She covered it up with false accounting entries in the company's records while also lying to the company's tax preparer, owner, and employees. She used the money on personal expenses, including shopping trips, vacation expenses, and mortgage, car and tuition payments.
Turney pleaded guilty to wire fraud, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a $250,000 fine. The company was not named in a news release from prosecutors nor in court filings.