Malden Woman Indicted On Federal Fraud, Identity Theft Charges

MALDEN, MA — A federal grand jury has indicted a Malden woman on identity theft and fraud charges in connection with the embezzlement of nearly $800,000 from a local law firm, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Kayla Figelski, 32, faces seven counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. She was arrested and charged Dec. 19.

Figelski stole at least $795,000 from the firm, where she was an employee, between April 2017 and June 2019, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Federal authorities say she forged checks to herself from the firm's checking accounts, including conservatorship and trust accounts the firm maintained for its elderly clients and their estates, and deposited the checks into her own account.

She then withdrew the funds, or directly cashed the checks, and modified bank statements to make it appear the checks were written to legitimate vendors instead of to her, according to the USAO.

The charge of bank fraud carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million.