Guilty Plea: Mississippi Woman Embezzled $600K from 2 Louisiana Employers

Federal prosecutors say a Mississippi woman has pleaded guilty to embezzling a total of more than $600,000 from two Louisiana employers.

Christy Bartholomew, 39, of Hattiesburg, pleaded guilty earlier this week to wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

Prosecutors said Bartholomew worked as a controller for a business in Slidell. There, they said, she embezzled about $357,000 from 2016 to 2019.

Later, as an office manager for a company in Kenner, she embezzled about $300,000 from November 2019 to February 2020. Prosecutors said she used several schemes, including use of a company credit card.

After her guilty plea to two counts of wire fraud, sentencing was set for Oct. 27. She faces a maximum possible prison sentence of 20 years, although the plea agreement filed this week states that prosecutors have agreed to recommend a sentence reduction.

The plea agreement calls for her to make restitution to the victims.