Woman accused of stealing $3.6M

Prosecutors say Trina M. Welch embezzled from employer

A 47-year-old Osburn woman who is accused of stealing millions of dollars from a Rathdrum construction company was indicted by a federal grand jury and will be arraigned next week in Coeur d’Alene’s U.S. District Court.

Trina M. Welch will enter a plea March 11 to 15 counts of wire fraud, which carries up to 20 years in prison per charge.

Welch is accused of stealing $3.6 million from Kasco of Idaho, LLC and Kasco Communications, where she was employed as an accountant for seven years until 2019.

Prosecutors said she spent a chunk of the money buying property in the Silver Valley and Montana.

Welch was the chief accountant for the Rathdrum company with its headquarters on Boekel Road that does construction and telecommunications work in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Alaska.

According to the indictment, Welch over a period of at least five years wrote at least 341 fraudulent checks from Kasco’s bank accounts, transferring cash from the company account to her own accounts. The amounts varied and started small, according to the indictment.

In 2014, Welch is accused of transferring about $10,000 from Kasco’s account. In 2015, the amount allegedly doubled. That year, Welch is accused of transferring more than $21,000 to her accounts, according to court records.

The following year, she allegedly transferred $100,000 to her accounts. In 2017 the amount transferred was around $90,000, according to the indictment. The next year around $70,000 was allegedly transferred, and last year Welch is accused of transferring around $60,000.

“Welch attempted to conceal her embezzlement by creating false entries in Kasco’s software accounting program to make it look like the money she stole had actually been used to pay legitimate business expenses,” according to the indictment.

Prosecutors said Welch purchased a Post Falls house with the money as well as four properties in the Silver Valley including three in Osburn and one in Smelterville. She also allegedly bought two riverfront properties in St. Regis, Mont.

If the government cannot pinpoint which assets were purchased with embezzled cash, it is allowed to substitute.

“The government will seek forfeiture of substitute assets, or any other property of the defendant’s” up to the value that was alleged to have been stolen, according to the indictment.

In addition to a 20-year penalty for each count, Welch could also be required to pay a $250,000 fine if she’s convicted, and be placed on supervised release for three years once she’s released from prison.

Judge Ronald E. Bush will preside over Welch’s 2 p.m. arraignment at the federal courthouse, 6450 N. Mineral Drive.