A 53-year-old former accountant charged with embezzling over $900,000 from her employer, a Richmond paver company, had her 10-year prison term suspended for three years “so she can seek and maintain employment to pay restitution,” according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.
Angela Fae Brown, a resident of Olivehurst in Yuba County, was charged in April for embezzling from her employer from September 2017 to November 2022. According to prosecutors, Brown pretended to be the owner of Viking Pavers to create a fake online account with a payment processing service linked to her personal bank account. She generated hundreds of fake invoices for services and sent them electronically to the fake account she controlled. Brown used company funds to pay the fake invoices using the online payment processing platform, which of course deposited the money into her own account. A manager eventually became suspicious and confronted her.
Brown was arrested in April. On Friday, June 14, she accepted a plea agreement.
“To fulfill the terms of the plea, the court will suspend her 10-year prison term for three years and place her on formal probation so she can seek and maintain employment to pay restitution,” the DA’s Office said. “Moreover, assets Brown accumulated during the period she was embezzling and stealing from her employer will be liquidated. The funds from the sale of those assets will be applied to restitution payments. $907,087.00 will go to the victim, and $61,860.10 to the Franchise Tax Board of California. Any violations of the terms of the plea agreement mean that Ms. Brown could be subject to the state prison system to serve the remainder of her sentence.”
District Attorney Diana Becton said it was important to hold Brown accountable while also ensuring the victims of these crimes can be made whole again.
