Pelham Woman Charged With Fraud

BESSEMER, AL - The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a four-count indictment last week in U.S. District Court charging Lucy Woods, 52, of Pelham, with stealing more than $150,000 from her former employer, Robert Warnock Co. Inc. Woods had worked for the company as a bookkeeper.

The company is a manufacturer’s representative that sells capital equipment for the oil and gas industry. In conjunction with the charges, the government also filed a plea agreement with Woods. She must appear before a judge to enter a guilty plea.

“This is another example of a case where an employee had access to financial information as part of her job duties and took great advantage of and violated her employer’s trust,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Beardsley Mark. “Businesses should be able to trust their employees with confidential business information and when that trust is broken, the employee should be held accountable.”

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While employed by Robert Warnock, Woods fraudulently charged personal expenses totaling more than $30,000 on a corporate credit card account. She also forged, and made payable to herself, more than $120,000 in unauthorized checks from the corporate bank account, according to the charges and plea agreement.

The maximum penalty for each count of wire fraud is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The FBI investigated the case in conjunction with the Bessemer Police Department. Mark is prosecuting the case.

Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images