Former Law Firm Employee Who Embezzled $500K Gets 8 Years in Prison

NAPERVILLE, IL — A Wilmington woman who pleaded guilty in January to stealing more than $500,000 from her employer has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

Le Anna Kelty, 55, of the 8800 block of Teal Ln. in Wilmington, was a former employee at a Naperville law firm, according to a release from the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Beginning in November 2006 and going through February 2013, Kelty stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from her employer, where she worked in the accounting department.

Kelty forged her employers’ signatures and deposited unauthorized checks drawn against the firm’s bank accounts into her personal bank accounts.

Kelty’s scheme unraveled approximately one year after she left the firm when authorities at the firm discovered discrepancies in their books and, following an internal audit, contacted law enforcement, according to the release.

“Without blinking an eye, Le Anna Kelty stole approximately one half a million dollars from her former employer over the course of six years,” State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “She abused the fiduciary trust placed in her and in doing so caused great hardship to the firm and her fellow co-workers.”

Kelty must serve 50 percent of her sentence before being eligible for parole.