Former bookkeeper facing 49 charges of Las Vegas theft and forgery

A former bookkeeper accused of transferring more than $200,000 between two of her clients’ accounts over a four-year period is facing 49 charges of theft and forgery, according to court documents.

Between January 2010 and December 2014, Roxanne “Roxie” Sparks, 57, was working as a bookkeeper for both Leslie Parraguirre, the wife of Nevada Supreme Court Justice Ron Parraguirre, and a California woman, Toni Antonacci, when she transferred money from Antonacci’s accounts to Leslie Parraguirre’s business accounts without authorization, the woman’s criminal complaint reads.

The complaint, filed July 29 in Las Vegas Justice Court, alleges Sparks used Antonacci’s signature stamp to write unauthorized checks, made unauthorized cash transfers and used Antonacci’s Office Depot card to take $201,096.22 from Antonacci’s accounts and move it to Parraguirre’s.

“I believe that Roxie fully intended to pay me back,” Antonacci said Friday, adding that Sparks did pay her back about $7,500. “All I want is money back, and I know she doesn’t have it. Leslie Parraguirre does.”

Sparks also allegedly used Parraguirre’s credit card and forged her credit card statements, adjusting the balance on paper by up to $20,000. On seven occasions, Sparks gave Parraguirre, the owner of Colours Inc., an interior design business that hired her as its bookkeeper in 2006, forged statements that showed differences in account balances totaling $101,517, the complaint claims.

Sparks was arrested Wednesday and is being held at the Clark County Detention Center on $197,000 bail. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 18. Sparks’ attorney could not be reached for comment.

Antonacci filed a federal lawsuit in 2014, demanding $180,000 for money traded from her account to Colours Inc. Sparks, Colours Inc. and Parraguirre are listed as defendants in the ongoing case, which seeks “the return of monies wrongfully taken” from her accounts.

“As far as I’m concerned, Leslie Parraguirre should be in jail for receipt of stolen goods,” Antonacci said, “and I’d certainly like to know why the DA’s office hasn’t had her arrested.”

Attorneys for Parraguirre declined to comment. However, in a civil lawsuit filed April 29 in Clark County District Court, Parraguirre argued that Sparks admitted to manipulating her company and personal accounts.

“After Sparks’ unexpected departure from Colours, Sparks admitted to certain fraud and illegal activity,” including transferring money from third-party accounts into Colours’ accounts, drawing unauthorized checks from third party accounts, making unauthorized transfers between Colours’ accounts and maxing out the company’s credit cards, the civil complaint reads.

The civil lawsuit filed by Parraguirre and Colours Inc., refers to Sparks’ employment with the company, but doesn’t list her as a defendant.

Parraguirre accuses Nyberg and Associates, Colours’ accounting firm at the time of the thefts, the firm’s owner, James Nyberg, and its employee, Daniel Geiger, of professional negligence, breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, negligent hiring and supervision and breach of fiduciary duty. In the civil complaint, Parraguirre argues that in 2007, her company and Nyberg and Associates agreed that Geiger, a convicted felon, would not handle her or her business’ accounts.

“Unbeknownst to Parraguirre, Geiger, at the direction of Nyberg, continued to perform financial and tax-related services to Colours” and failed to identify red flags in financial records, the complaint reads.

Contact Kimber Laux at klaux@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. Find @lauxkimber on Twitter.