A former accountant for a paver company in Richmond was arrested last week and charged with six felonies in connection with an alleged embezzlement scheme that bilked over $800,000 from her employer.
Angela Fae Brown, 43, of Olivehurst in Yuba County, allegedly “used her accounting skills to exploit financial vulnerabilities” at her company, Viking Pavers, to enrich herself for nearly five years, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office. The alleged crimes occurred 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 allegedly generated hundreds of phony 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 sent the money into her own account.
She managed to conceal the scheme for a long time, but a manger eventually became suspicious and confronted her, according to the DA’s Office.
The Richmond Police Department and financial forensics analysts from the DA’s Office investigated. Brown was arrested April 19 and is currently in custody at the Martinez Detention Facility. Her bail is set at $2 million.
“In white-collar crimes, it’s of paramount importance for our Special Operations Unit to use forensic tools to recover stolen funds; funds some have gone to great lengths to conceal,” District Attorney Diana Becton said about the case.
The charges against Brawn include identity theft, money laundering, grand theft exceeding $950, false impersonation, and concealing property with intent to evade tax. Brown also faces a special allegation for an aggravated white-collar crime that involved the taking of over $500,000.
