Former Payroll Administrator Found Guilty of $1.5 Million Fraud Against Longtime Employer

            WASHINGTON – A longtime payroll administrator was found guilty today of wire fraud and other charges for a scheme in which she embezzled more than $1.5 million from her former employer, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Robert E. Bornstein, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division.

            Eleanor Milligan, 61, of Silver Spring, Md., was found guilty of a total of 13 counts, including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and first-degree theft. The verdict followed a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Honorable Timothy J. Kelly scheduled sentencing for Oct. 22, 2021.

            According to the government’s evidence, except for brief periods, Milligan worked from 1998 to 2016 for a company based in Washington, D.C.  Beginning in at least or about August 2009, and continuing until in or about March 2016, Milligan used her fellow employees’ names and personal identifying identification without authority to transmit false payment requests to herself through the employer’s payroll processing system. In total, Milligan caused more than $1.5 million in fraudulently obtained payments to be direct-deposited into accounts under her control and otherwise paid for her benefit.

            In announcing the verdict, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips and Acting Special Agent in Charge Bornstein commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). They commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Chad Byron and Michon Tart, Victim-Witness Service Coordinator Tonya Jones, Supervisory Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, and Litigation Technology Specialist Jeanie Latimore-Brown. Finally, they acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Diane Lucas and Christine Macey, who prosecuted the matter.