OKLAHOMA CITY – A metro-area woman who admitted embezzling $175,294 from her employer was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to make restitution.
Annika Martin, also known as Annika Scott, 35, of Moore, was the head office accountant at AAA Fiberglass Repair in Oklahoma City, which specializes in cooling tower and industrial plant repairs. She worked there from 2010 “until she was fired in August 2016,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported.
On Sept. 25, 2014, Martin/Scott passed a forged check drawn on the company’s bank account in order to buy three money orders, “which she used for lifestyle expenses,” including a pick- up loan payment, the government alleged.
In addition to stealing business checks, Martin “gave herself unauthorized pay raises, paid herself overtime salary and vacation that she did not work or earn, reimbursed herself for work expenses that she did not incur, and used a company credit card for personal purchases,” the U.S. Attorney charged.
Martin/Scott pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced earlier this month by U.S. District Judge Patrick Wyrick of the Western District of Oklahoma.
A document in the court file reports that Ms. Martin and her husband “made sufficient income to meet their basic needs” but harbored a “desire for more.”
Vehicles costing $40,000 and $50,000 were acquired on credit, which “made a significant dent in the household bottom line.” Additionally, a Sea-Doo, a Polaris all-terrain vehicle and a boat “added another $40,000 of revolving debt.”
Martin and her husband filed for bankruptcy in 2017, court records show. “At that time, they had more than $87,000 in secured debt and more than $107,000 in unsecured debt.
“Their financial problems resulted in significant household stress and ultimately led to dissolution of the marriage,” the court document relates. It also “led her to exercise poor judgment, some of which is reflected in the offense conduct.”