A Shelton woman was sentenced to one year in prison Thursday for embezzling more than $260,000 from her employer, a Shelton company.
Barbara J. Buchanan, 60, of Shelton, had entered a guilty plea to one count of wire fraud in U.S. District Court last March.
On Thursday, Judge Janet Bond Arterton imposed the sentence in a proceeding held via videoconference because of the pandemic.
After Buchanan serves one year and one day in prison, she will be on supervised release for three years. She must serve the first six months of supervised release in home confinement, and must also perform 100 hours of community service.
Buchanan must report to prison on Dec. 1, 2020.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Buchanan already paid restitution of $260,202.52 prior to her sentencing.
Following her guilty plea, Buchanan’s attorney, John Thygerson of Norwalk, told New Haven Biz his client had “promptly accepted responsibility for her actions and is extremely remorseful for what she has done.”
Buchanan had worked as payroll manager for H.J. Baker & Bro. LLC, a business headquartered on Corporate Drive in Shelton, at the time of the offense. The company serves the agriculture industry and makes a variety of feed, fertilizer and sulphur products, according to its website.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, over a five year period, from approximately 2014 through September 2019, Buchanan made multiple false entries and adjustments in the company’s payroll system in order to wire company funds into her personal bank account.
Buchanan also made phony journal entries in the company’s tax records in an effort to conceal the embezzlement, prosecutors said. Buchanan stole approximately $220,000 from the company through the scheme.
Additionally, prosecutors indicated that Buchanan also used a company American Express card to make $40,000 in personal purchases. Buchanan no longer works with the company.
Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.
