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U.S. Department of Justice PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Washington, D.C. - A 26-year-old woman, Maribel A. Guillen, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for engaging in a fraudulent scheme in which she stole more than $107,000 from her former employer, the International Intellectual Property Institute, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor and Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, announced today.
Guillen received her sentence yesterday in U.S. District Court before the Honorable Gladys Kessler. On April 26, 2007, Guillen pled guilty to one count of Wire Fraud. The Court also ordered that the defendant be placed on a two-year term of supervised release following her release from prison and pay restitution in the amount of $107,208.31.
According to the facts presented at the plea hearing, Guillen was employed by the International Intellectual Property Institute (“IIPI”) from April 2004 until January 2006, where she was responsible for the financial accounting of the organization. IIPI is a not-for-profit, international development organization and think-tank located in Washington, D.C., dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding of the use of intellectual property as a tool for economic growth, particularly in developing countries. Guillen’s duties included maintaining the organization’s checkbook and “petty cash” account, processing payroll and expense reimbursements, and paying the organization’s expenses via check or credit card. In addition, Guillen was responsible for maintaining the organization’s accounting books and reconciling them with its bank and credit card balances.
Shortly after beginning her employment with IIPI, Guillen began manually preparing and signing checks written on the IIPI operating account maintained at Wachovia Bank which she made payable to herself or to “petty cash.” Guillen used a rubber stamp bearing the signature of IIPI’s chairman to endorse the stolen checks. Guillen negotiated the checks and either cashed the checks or deposited funds stolen from the IIPI operating account into one or more checking accounts held in her name.
In addition, Guillen used the IIPI corporate credit card to charge personal expenses or to obtain cash advances and convenience checks that Guillen made payable to herself. Guillen did so by using computers located at IIPI’s offices and at her Washington, D.C., residence to make unauthorized, on-line purchases with the IIPI corporate credit card from merchants located outside Washington, D.C. Guillen subsequently paid for such fraudulent purchases by making on-line, debit payments from the IIPI’s operating account at Wachovia Bank in Washington, D.C., to Chase Cardmember Services in Wilmington, Delaware. As a result of this fraudulent activity, Guillen received personal items to which she was not entitled including, merchandise, cash advances and convenience checks. Because of the fraudulent scheme executed by Guillen, IIPI suffered losses in excess of $107,000.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Taylor and Assistant Director in Charge Persichini commended the investigative work of the FBI. In addition, they commended Legal Assistant Teesha Tobias and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe, who prosecuted the case.
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