Former Standard Counsel And Main Organization Officer For Economical Technology Corporation Sentenced To Additional Than A few Decades In Prison For Embezzlement Plan | USAO-NDCA

SAN FRANCISCO—Brooke Campbell Solis was sentenced to 37 months in prison and purchased to pay $500,000 in restitution for wire fraud costs levied in connection with a plan to embezzle funds from her former employer, introduced United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Good.  The sentence was handed down by the Honorable James Donato, U.S. District Choose.

Solis, 51, of Austin, Texas, pleaded guilty to the expenses on August 23, 2021.  According to the plea agreement, in January of 2018, Solis was an legal professional certified to practice legislation in the Condition of California when she was employed by a San Francisco-based mostly economic technology enterprise as its common counsel. For most of her work, she was permitted to function remotely from her home in Austin, Texas.  In her potential as general counsel, she managed the legal, monetary, and accounting techniques for the firm and in March, 2019, she was promoted to the place of Main Business Officer at the enterprise.  In connection with her task responsibilities, Solis was offered “Super Administrative” privileges in the accounting and expense management programs used by her employer.  According to the plea agreement, Solis acknowledged that she made use of these privileges to defraud her previous employer and embezzle cash from the company. 

A person process Solis utilized to defraud her former employer was by preparing and using fraudulent invoices.  Exclusively, she asked for payment from the employer to a shell business, The Paralegal Group LLC, that she developed and managed.  On June 2, 2019, Solis entered into a consulting agreement amongst The Paralegal Team and her employer. Solis utilized the initials “R.D.,” to sign the agreement.   On the identical day that Solis signed the consulting agreement—both on behalf of herself as The Paralegal Group and for her employer—Solis also submitted an bill for $9,222.50 from The Paralegal Group.  The bill was dated May well 31, 2019, ahead of the consulting agreement even came into existence. 

A further approach Solis used to defraud her former employer was to look for reimbursement for fraudulent bills.  For example, on July 24, 2019, two times after ending her employment with her former employer, Solis submitted a individual expense of $4,575, for 61 days of “Jackson and Oliver boarding” at a doggy boarding enterprise. In the plea agreement, Solis admitted that the boarding of the dogs was a particular expenditure.  Nonetheless, at the time she submitted the fraudulent price, she had obtain to her earlier businesses account and however exercised super-administrative privileges which experienced not but been taken absent from her. In sum, Solis prompted payment of the $4,575 to be compensated by her former employer and the cash to be electronically deposited into her particular account. 

Solis also ongoing to defraud the organization just after she left.  She was charged with, and pled responsible to, four wire fraud transactions, in which she diverted at least $400,000 of the company’s income to her have particular examining account practically two months immediately after her employment ended.  In complete, Solis stole much more than $500, 000 from the victim company.

On July 29, 2021, the Place of work of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California filed an info charging Solis with 6 counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343.  Solis pleaded guilty to all six counts. 

Solis agreed to surrender her license to observe legislation as aspect of her plea settlement. Decide Donato requested the defendant to self-surrender and begin serving her jail term on March 21, 2022. In addition, Judge Donato requested Solis to serve a 3-year time period of supervised launch to start off immediately after the prison time period has expired.

Assistant U.S. Legal professional Robin Harris is prosecuting the case.  The prosecution is the consequence of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.