Ava woman sentenced for embezzling from Springfield law firm
SBJ Staff
Posted online
An Ava women was sentenced to three years and two months in federal prison without parole for embezzling $212,100 from her Springfield employer.
Peggy Duncan, 63, also was sentenced to pay full restitution to her victims in a verdict handed down March 20 by U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner. On Aug. 29, Duncan pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri Tammy Dickinson.
Duncan previously was account manager for the law firm of Carmichael & Neal PC, 2659 E. Normandy Drive. In addition to her other duties, Duncan handled the accounts payable and reconciled bank accounts for multiple corporations operated by Lloyd and Rose Carmichael, including Affordable Homes Development LLC, according to the release.
During her employment, Duncan and her husband jointly owned Twin Oaks Mill Inc., a sawmill in Ava. Duncan admitted she prepared 47 checks totaling $212,100 drawn on the Affordable Homes bank account from September 2006 to February 2009. Each of these checks were made payable to herself or to Twin Oaks Mill. Duncan forged her employer’s name to the checks without his knowledge or permission and deposited the checks into her own bank accounts for personal use.
According to the release, Duncan entered the false information into the Affordable Homes Reconciliation detail report, which she presented to Lloyd Carmichael each month.
