PENSACOLA, FLORIDA– Candace B. McLeod, 32, of Holt, Florida, was sentenced yesterday to 75 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and filing false tax returns. The sentence was announced by Christopher P. Canova, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Between 2009 and 2013, McLeod embezzled over $1 million from her employer, a family-owned business in Destin. McLeod worked as a bookkeeper, and she stole money by making unauthorized online payments to pay her credit cards with employer funds, using corporate credit cards for unauthorized personal purchases, and issuing extra checks to herself from corporate accounts by fraudulently using the signature of the general manager. She used her position to create false documentation and to manipulate accounting records to cover up her scheme. McLeod also failed to report the embezzled money as income on her income tax returns.
This case resulted from a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia H. Kim prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. The office strives to protect and serve the citizens of the Northern District of Florida through the ethical, vigorous, and impartial enforcement of the laws of the United States, to defend the national security, to improve the safety and quality of life in our communities through the protection of civil rights, and to protect the public funds and financial assets of the United States. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
For more information, contact:
Amy Alexander, Public Information Officer
(850) 216-3854, amy.alexander@usdoj.gov