Fitchburg Woman Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $1.3 Million from Woburn-based Employer

WOBURN, MA—A Fitchburg woman plead guilty in U.S. District Court to embezzling over $1.3 million from her Woburn-based employer over a ten-year period, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Tuesday. 

Dawnmarie Prince, 47, plead guilty to eight counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft Tuesday, according to the announcement. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 14. 

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Prince used her position as an office manager to steal hundreds of the company's checks which she made payable to herself or her son. The announcement also stated that she forged her boss' signature on the stolen checks and deposited them into her personal bank account. 

She had worked for a Woburn-based life science technology firm, which was not named by the U.S. Attorney's office. 

Prince also removed copies of the negotiated checks when sent back by the bank, and falsified entries into the company's bookkeeping software to make it appear as if the stolen checks were used to pay legitimate vendors, according to the release. She had previously been convicted of mail fraud for defrauding a previous employer and sentenced to three years of probation. 

She faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, and a $1 million fine on each of the bank fraud accounts. She also faces a mandatory consecutive term of two years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for the aggravated identity theft charge.