Woman sentenced to 5 years for embezzlement
A federal judge in Las Vegas on Wednesday sentenced a woman to more than five years in prison for what prosecutors say was a multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme.
Deborah A. DiFrancesco, 56, was ordered to pay nearly $5 million in restitution - $3.8 million to her clients and $1.1 million to the Internal Revenue Service, according to an IRS news release. U.S. District Court Judge James C. Mahan also sentenced her to three years of supervised release.
Mahan said it was unlikely DiFrancesco would ever be able to pay the $5 million, the release said. She would have to work until 2307 to earn enough money.
IRS Special Agent in Charge Paul Camacho said DiFrancesco, working through Lakes Payroll Inc., made multiple copies of the same employment tax forms. She gave one copy to clients, showing that the correct amount of taxes had been paid. The other copies, which understated the amount of taxes paid, went to the IRS and other taxing authorities. She pocketed the difference.
From 2009 to 2011, DiFrancesco embezzled approximately $3.4 million from her small business clients then used the money for gambling and personal expenditures, authorities said.
