Embezzler destined for prison; stole $700K

COEUR d’ALENE — A 63-year-old Coeur d’Alene woman could spend 20 years in federal prison for stealing almost $700,000 from the Coeur d’Alene cabinet business where she worked.

In addition to the prison sentence, Sue Ann Larson could be made to pay a fine of up to $250,000 after pleading guilty this week in U.S. District Court in Coeur d’Alene to wire fraud and filing a false tax return.

Larson’s sentencing is set for May 28 at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

Larson, a longtime bookkeeper for Tapley Cabinets, a Coeur d’Alene custom cabinet business, admitted to embezzling from the business from 2009 to 2018, including $697,252.11 taken between May 2013 and February 2018 by transferring cash amounts from more than $2,000 to $10,000 at a time. She did that via wire from an Umpqua Bank business account to her personal Chase Bank and Capital One Bank and credit card accounts, according to court records.

To hide the scheme, Larson created false entries in the business ledgers to make it look like the money she was embezzling had been used for legitimate business expenses, U.S. District prosecutor Bart Davis said.

In addition to the prison term and fine, wire fraud also carries a term of supervised release of up to three years. Filing a false tax return is punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine of up to $100,000, and a term of supervised release of one year.

Larson filed tax returns from 2012 to 2018 that failed to include the income from the embezzling scheme. She reported $45,772 in income for 2014, according to federal court records.

“Larson admits that she underreported her income by $243,158.61 for the calendar year of 2014,” the court record states. “Underreporting her income resulted in failure to pay taxes to the IRS in the amount of $45,631.28 in the calendar year 2014.”

Larson’s sentence will require she turn over any proceeds from the stolen cash and any equipment such as computers she used to steal the money.

The case was investigated by the Coeur d’Alene Police Department and investigators of the Internal Revenue Service.