Portsmouth Couple Plead Guilty to Conspiracy and Fraud Charges
NORFOLK, Va. – Terri Lynn Nagy-Phillips, 41, and her husband Craig, 42, both of Portsmouth, Va., pled guilty late yesterday in Norfolk federal court to one count of conspiracy and one count of wire fraud in connection with an embezzlement scheme from a Virginia Beach commercial real estate company.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after the plea was accepted late yesterday afternoon by United States Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller.
The Phillips’ were indicted on March 22, 2012, by a federal grand jury on charges of Conspiracy, Wire Fraud, and Mail Fraud. They both face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count and will have to pay restitution when they are sentenced. Craig Phillips will be sentenced on October 9, 2012, and Terri Lynn Nagy-Phillips will be sentenced on October 10, 2012.
In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreements, Terri Lynn Nagy-Phillips was the comptroller of a commercial real estate company based in Virginia Beach. From January 2007 through November 2011, she used her position to embezzle nearly $3 million from the company. She also falsely listed her husband, Craig Phillips, as an employee of the company and paid him a salary. Of the nearly $3 million in stolen money, approximately $2.3 million was in the form of company checks which were deposited in the Phillips’ bank accounts or were written to businesses to pay for the goods and services purchased by the Phillips. They also executed fraudulent wire transactions to pay for more than $500,000 in unauthorized charges made to the company’s credit card. The credit card was used to purchase jewelry, airline tickets to the U.S. Virgin Islands, New York City and Las Vegas, and supplies for a tanning salon business, among other things.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Secret Service and the Virginia Beach Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Randy Stoker is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
