Louisiana School Bookkeeper Sentenced to Prison for Fraud

Published November 2, 2021

A former bookkeeper at a Louisiana School has been sentenced to federal prison for fraud. She was also ordered to pay more than $100,000 in damages.

Louisiana – Carlina Moore, 37, of Alexandria, Louisiana, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, by United States District Judge David C. Joseph today. Moore was also ordered to pay a total of $121,600.50 in damages.

Moore pleaded guilty to a Bill of Information accusing her of wire fraud on August 4, 2021. Moore worked as a bookkeeper for the Montessori Educational Center, Inc. (MEC) from May 2018 until August 2020, where she was in charge of all in-house bookkeeping.

According to documents provided to the court during the hearing, the MEC’s administrator inspected their bank account on or about August 25, 2020, and identified a dubious transaction. This prompted the administrator to investigate the bank and credit card accounts further. Moore was embezzling monies from the MEC’s accounts without their knowledge or permission, according to their inquiry into the shady transaction. Moore scammed the MEC by moving monies over wire communications in interstate commerce, according to law enforcement authorities who probed the illegal behavior further.

Moore admitted that she created a conspiracy to mislead the MEC in order to fraudulently take money and property from the MEC for her own personal benefit. She acknowledged defrauding the MEC of $121,600.50.

The case was investigated by the US Secret Service and prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Danny Siefker.