A North Branford woman accused of embezzling nearly half-a-million dollars from her former nursing home employer and its residents has pleaded guilty in federal court.
Melissa Meole, 35, entered the guilty plea to wire fraud and filing a false tax return in a videoconference proceeding before U.S. District Court Judge Victor A. Bolden.
As part of her plea agreement, Meole will pay restitution of $456,595. Additionally, she has to pay $103,217, plus interest and penalties, to the Internal Revenue Service.
Meole was arrested last September, and she remains free on a $200,000 bond pending her sentencing, which hasn’t been scheduled yet.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, at the time of the embezzlement, Meole worked for the Bridgeport Health Care Center Inc., which operated the Bridgeport Health Care Center, a nursing and rehabilitation facility on Bond Street in Bridgeport.
The company filed for bankruptcy in April 2018, court records show. Before the fall of 2018, the company also operated a second facility known as Bridgeport Manor, also on Bond Street, which is now closed.
In her role with the company, Meole processed payroll and handled finances for the Bridgeport Manor resident trust accounts, which contained residents’ personal money, according to the government.
From 2015 until October 2018, when she was fired, Meole stole more than $415,000 by writing checks to “cash” out of these trust accounts. Meole then deposited the funds into her personal bank account, federal prosecutors said.
Meole additionally stole more than $29,000 by writing false payroll checks, then depositing them into her own bank account by forging employees’ signatures.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, after Meole was fired, she defrauded another employer of about $9,000 by stealing and depositing checks. Prosecutors say she additionally defrauded three banks in a check kiting scheme.
Meole also failed to report $487,523 in income to the IRS for the 2015 to 2018 tax years, resulting in a tax loss to the government of $103,217. A significant portion of that income had been obtained fraudulently, according to the government.
Meole’s attorney, Assistant Federal Defender Allison Murray Near, could not be reached for comment following the plea.
Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.
