Livingston Woman Embezzled From Apple, Gets 3 Years In Jail

LIVINGSTON, NJ — A Livingston woman who formerly worked as an administrative assistant for Apple was sentenced to three years in state prison last week for “embezzling large sums of money from the company,” prosecutors said.

Toni Ann Branca, 42, of Livingston, bilked the technology giant by double-billing Apple for reimbursement of business expenses on her company credit card and then using the resulting credit on the card to buy luxury items for herself, according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.

A Superior Court judge in Essex County sentenced Branca on Friday. She previously pleaded guilty on Jan. 22 to second-degree theft by deception and paid $95,000 in restitution to the company prior to sentencing.

Branca was indicted as a result of an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Financial and Computer Crimes Bureau, prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors:

“As an administrator for Apple, Branca worked mostly from her home and was responsible for arranging employee training, travel and parking for her region. She was authorized to pay for company expenses such as conference rooms and parking with a company-issued American Express credit card in her name. The investigation revealed that Branca submitted dozens of duplicate requests for reimbursement of business expenses charged on the card, resulting in a total of roughly $243,000 in excess reimbursements. Apple made the duplicate payments to Branca’s Amex account, and she used the resulting credit balances to shop for clothes, electronics and furniture.”

Prosecutors said:

“Between 2013 and 2016, Branca used the Amex card for more than $110,000 in personal retail spending, including purchases at Victoria’s Secret, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Home Goods. Apple initiated its investigation of Branca after it discovered numerous Victoria’s Secret charges on her company-issued Amex card. After conducting an internal investigation, Apple referred the case to the Division of Criminal Justice.”

The Division of Criminal Justice has established a toll-free “Corruption Tipline” at 1-866-TIPS-4CJ for the public to confidentially report corruption, financial crime and other illegal activities. The public also can log on to the division’s website at www.njdcj.org to report suspected wrongdoing.

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