SANTA ANA, California– A Corona woman who embezzled more than $500,000 from her employer, an Irvine-based property management company, has been sentenced to serve 27 months in federal prison.
Kristina Hosea, 46, of Corona, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney, who also ordered the defendant to pay $515,619 restitution.
Hosea pleaded guilty in 2015 to one count of wire fraud and admitted that she stole money from her employer, Advanced Real Estate Services, Inc. (ARES), where she worked as the assistant to the president.
“This defendant stole funds for years to pay for rent, her cars, a retirement account and a quinceanera for her daughter,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “Businesses place trust in their employees who handle their finances, and crimes like this defendant’s harm the business and all of the business’ employees.”
According to court documents, Hosea was responsible for reviewing and approving invoices, as well as preparing checks to be signed by the company president. She was also provided a company credit card to be used only for business purposes.
From at least September 2008 and through May 2014, Hosea knowingly defrauded ARES by wiring company funds to her personal bank account and cashing at least 100 ARES checks made payable to her and others for non-business expenses. She also used company credit cards to make purchases unrelated to the company’s business.
In order to conceal her actions and avoid detection, Hosea altered and modified bank and credit card statements, created phony invoices and deleted records of checks from the company’s computers.
“The defendant supplemented her income with stolen company funds and became accustomed to living beyond her means by regularly defrauding her employer,” said Deirdre Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Ultimately, the greed which led to her criminal actions came under scrutiny and she will pay for her crime behind bars and through court-ordered restitution.”
Judge Carney ordered the defendant to begin serving her prison sentence by February 21.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory W. Staples of the Santa Ana Branch Office.