United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

1100 Commerce St., 3rd Fl.
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699

Telephone (214) 659-8600
Fax (214) 767-0978

LOCAL WOMAN SENTENCED TO TWO YEARS
IN FEDERAL PRISON, WITHOUT PAROLE,
FOR STEALING FROM PENSION PLAN

Maile Epley, 51, of Carrollton, Texas, was sentenced to two years in federal prison for stealing more than $300,000 from an employee benefit plan, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. At yesterday’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay also ordered that Epley pay $302,021.45 in restitution and ordered that she surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on March 27, 2007.

Epley pled guilty in October 2006 to an information which charged her with one count of theft from an employee benefit plan, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 664. From February 1987 to early February 2003, Epley worked as a bookkeeper for the Laborers National Pension Plan. Even though her duties included accounts payable, processing checks for payment and the reconciliation of bank accounts, she did not have check signing authority on any of the Plan’s accounts.

An outside auditing firm determined that Epley had stolen and embezzled $302,021.45 from the Laborers National Pension Plan using wire transfers and forging checks.

U.S. Attorney Roper commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcus J. Busch.

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