Cd'A woman imprisoned for stealing $1M from employer

A Coeur d'Alene woman prosecutors said stole more than $1 million from her former employer and gambled away most of the funds received a nearly three-year prison sentence for the crime.

Tahnya Hyung Shafer, 48, pleaded guilty in March to wire fraud, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Chief United States District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford sentenced Shafer this week to 33 months in federal prison. 

The charge stems from Shafer's time as a human resources manager for a family business in Spokane, where she began working in late 2022. In this role, prosecutors said Shafer oversaw employee benefits, payroll and accounts payable.

Between 2023 and 2025, Shafer used multiple fraudulent schemes to steal from her employer, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Idaho. 

Prosecutors said Shafer used two payroll-related schemes, according to court records. The first involved using the company's payroll system to inflate her paycheck, and the second involved creating fake employees in her name in the payroll system and having paychecks issued to them, allowing her to collect additional paychecks. 

While overseeing accounts payable, Shafer was empowered to log into the company's online bank accounts and make payments to vendors doing business with the company. 

Shafer created bogus payments addressed to apparently legitimate vendors as payees but listed her own bank account and routing numbers so the payments went to her accounts, prosecutors said. She made one such transaction in February 2025, according to court records, resulting in a $25,000 transfer from the company's bank account to her own. 

Shafer spent the "vast majority" of the stolen money at casinos in North Idaho, primarily the Coeur d'Alene Casino, according to court records. Defense counsel for Shafer said she was "an admitted gambling addict" and that her gambling addiction stems from mental health issues. 

Prosecutors said the business owners treated Shafer as a "quasi family member," only to have their trust betrayed when she siphoned more than $1 million from the business. 

During this time, Shafer repeatedly told the owners that they were short on funds and couldn't make payroll. While the business "hemorrhaged" money, the owners put their own funds back into the business so employees, including Shafer, could keep getting paid. 

Brailsford ordered that Shafer be placed on supervised release for three years after the completion of her prison sentence. Shafer must also pay more than $1 million in restitution to her former employer. 

U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis commended the FBI for its work in bringing the charges.