A former office manager at Sheboygan-based Beaudry Electric Motors has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $430,000 from the company over a two-year period.
Lynette Lomibao entered a guilty plea in the U.S District Court for Eastern Wisconsin earlier this month to charges of wire fraud and making false statements to the IRS.
Lomibao began embezzling from the company, which specializes in electrical motor repair and rebuilding, in August 2011 by creating false vendor bills for fictitious services or items, according to her plea agreement. She would then pay the bills by transferring money from the company’s U.S. Bank account to personal checking accounts she held at Sheboygan Area Credit Union, Guaranty Bank and Wells Fargo Bank.
She was able to transfer $30,534 in 2011, another $110,305 in 2012 and $290,850 in 2013. Jay Beaudry, BEM president, noticed irregularities in the company’s accounts in late 2013 and an internal investigation exposed the scheme. The plea agreement says Lomibao admitted to embezzling funds in December 2013, but said she had only been doing it for a couple of months.
In September 2014 Lomibao told the IRS she stole to provide a better life for her family and to build good credit. The funds were used to buy furniture, take trips, pay bills and for gambling at Oneida Casino, according to court documents.
Her plea agreement requires her to pay $431,690 in restitution to the company and $127,222 in back taxes to the IRS. She also faces up to 23 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for August.
