Ex-employee pleads guilty to embezzling $362K from Springfield employer

An Ash Grove woman pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to embezzling more than $362,000 from her former Springfield employer.

Carrie Long, 52, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of failure to pay employment taxes related to her time working as an in-house accountant for Executive Coach Builders Inc. and Executive Bus Builders Inc., which build buses, coaches and limousines, according to a news release from the office of Teresa Moore, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

Between February 2016 and September 2020, Long admitted she stole at least $362,175 from the companies by writing checks against their bank accounts for unauthorized payments to herself. Additionally, she admitted to forging signatures on company checks, filling unauthorized amounts on the checks and making them payable to herself.

Additionally, Long admitted she failed to pay nearly $1 million in business payroll taxes and personal income taxes, according to the release.

The terms of her plea agreement order Long to pay $1.3 million in restitution to the companies and the IRS.

Under federal statutes, Long could be subject to up to 25 years in federal prison without parole, according to the release. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled following the presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.