JACKSON, Wyo. — A woman was sentenced Tuesday to 46 months in federal prison for executing a yearslong wire fraud and tax evasion plan in which she embezzled $1,484,104.80 from her employer, according to a Friday announcement by the Department of Justice’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Wyoming.
Laura Means, 46, of Jackson will be eligible for three years of supervised release after serving prison time. She was ordered to pay $355,875.32 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and $1,484,104.80 in restitution to her former employer, identified by the Jackson Hole News&Guide as Town Square Inns. Means was ordered to self-surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on Dec. 2.
“Laura Means abused her position as bookkeeper to siphon money from her employer’s business to line her own pockets,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Amanda Koldjeski said in a statement. “Her scheme impacted the business and was devastating to the victims who considered her part of their family.”
Per the announcement, Means was hired in 2015, and maintained control over employee payroll, bank accounts and tax reporting for the family business’ several lodging properties. Court documents suggest the fraudulent behavior began in 2019 after Means moved from Jackson to Hawaii. Her employer allowed her to keep the position as long as she agreed to return to Jackson monthly.
Means was found guilty of altering QuickBooks accounting entries, concealing unauthorized money transfers into her personal accounts using expense labels including “supplies” or “invoices.” She reportedly issued herself duplicate salary payments and unearned bonuses. Since she was handling these transactions electronically from Hawaii, the “fraudulent transfers traveled through interstate wire communications,” per the announcement.
“Means abused her position of trust to steal more than a million dollars from a family-owned business and then compounded that betrayal by concealing the stolen income and filing false tax returns,” Special Agent in Charge Todd Wacaser said in a statement.
After the formal filing of criminal information and the issuance of a summons on June 22, Means waived indictment and entered a guilty plea to counts of wire fraud and filing a false tax return during a court hearing in Cheyenne on July 16. U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson handed down the sentence. The case was investigated by the FBI, the IRS and the Teton County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Vierbuchen prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
