Brick Woman Stole $1M From Employer, Gets 6 Years In Jail: Reports

FREEHOLD, NJ — A Brick Township woman who admitted stealing more than $1 million from her employer has been sentenced to serve six years in prison, according to reports.

Virginia DeBerri, 53, was sentenced by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Richard W. English in Freehold on Friday, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press.

She pleaded guilty in January to second degree theft, acknowledging that she stole more than $1 million from her employer, Foresight Enviroprobe, Inc., over the course of five years while she was employed as a bookkeeper for the Millstone-based company, New Jersey State Police said in a post on Facebook at the time of her plea.

DeBerri came under investigation in November 2015 when the owners of Foresight were notified of a banking discrepancy, state police said. During the investigation authorities discovered DeBerri forged more than 500 company checks between 2010 and 2015 that were deposited into her personal bank account. They also discovered that she increased her own salary by manipulating the company payroll without authorization.

The plea agreement with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office included a seven-year sentence recommendation, state police said.

According to a report by NJ.com, DeBerri's attorney, Michael Nolan, said she has battled a gambling addiction and addictions to alcohol and Xanax for many years.

The Asbury Park Press reported DeBerri had previously entered the state's pretrial intervention program after taking funds from another company but started working for Foresight — and stealing from that company — before her PTI was complete.

Read more of the Asbury Park Press report here.

Virginia DeBerri photo via New Jersey State Police