If you want a better deal go see Cal...
05-31-2006, 10:12 AM
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If you want a better deal go see Cal...
Folsom woman is accused of gambling with embezzled money
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/s...15075557c.html
Susan Pruett, with her husband, Kenneth, second from left, won $1 million in a video poker competition in March at Harrah's in Stateline NV. The other two men were not identified.
--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/s...15075557c.html
Susan Pruett, with her husband, Kenneth, second from left, won $1 million in a video poker competition in March at Harrah's in Stateline NV. The other two men were not identified.
Originally Posted by SacBee.com
Published 12:01 am PDT Wednesday, May 31, 2006
As Cal Worthington's old jingle advises, Susan Michelle Pruett went to see Cal and his dog Spot and, federal authorities say, she took the auto dealership magnate to the cleaners.
Authorities allege that Pruett embezzled $750,000 while working as a bookkeeper for Worthington's Folsom Imports and other Worthington enterprises and then bankrolled a high life at Lake Tahoe casinos.
Using the embezzled money, Pruett hit a $1 million jackpot in March at an exclusive video poker tournament, said Karen Ernst, FBI spokeswoman. Pruett, 38, was allowed to enter the tournament because she and her husband, Kenneth Richard Pruett, 44, had spent their way into the "Seven Star Players" club, the highest membership level at Harrah's and Harvey's casinos.
"I plan to travel the globe and continue to play at Harvey's!" Susan Pruett is quoted as saying in a casino news release after beating 218 other players for the March 21 jackpot. After the four-hour tournament, the smiling Pruetts were photographed holding a poster-sized check for $1 million.
Agents from the Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigation division and the FBI arrested the Pruetts at their Folsom home Tuesday morning. They appeared in federal court and were released on bail. The Pruetts were indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday.
Susan Pruett faces 47 counts of mail fraud. She and her husband each face three counts of tax evasion and one count of money laundering, according to Ernst.
Efforts to reach the Pruetts and officials at Folsom Imports were unsuccessful Tuesday.
After Susan Pruett hit the $1 million video poker jackpot, agents from the IRS seized nearly half of the winnings under a federal civil seizure warrant issued April 3.
"At that point, a case obviously had been opened," Ernst said. "That's what I think is such a hoot -- that she's gambling, wins this $1 million prize and the IRS says, 'We'll take half of that.' "
If the Pruetts are found guilty, the $497,000 seized from Susan Pruett's jackpot could be used as restitution for Worthington.
"It appears that they enjoyed gambling, so a lot of that (allegedly embezzled) money is probably gone, but at least the government got some of the money back," Ernst said.
Susan Pruett allegedly forged signatures on 54 checks totaling more than $750,000 and sent the money to her own business, Pruett Professional Services, local accounts and accounts in Montana during the past four years, Ernst said. The U.S. attorney's office alleges that Pruett created a second set of checks to legitimate business clients in order to conceal the embezzlement between May 2002 and February 2006.
The Pruetts face tax-evasion charges alleging they did not report the embezzled funds on their tax returns, an underpayment of federal taxes totaling $179,000.
The money-laundering charge stems from a $14,000 electronic funds transfer the Pruetts made from a Montana account to the California Franchise Tax Board, which violates a federal law against transactions larger than $10,000 involving stolen money, the FBI said.
The maximum penalty for each of the mail fraud charges Susan Pruett faces is 20 years in prison. Each of the tax-evasion charges carries a maximum penalty of five years behind bars, and the money-laundering charges carry a maximum of 10 years.
As Cal Worthington's old jingle advises, Susan Michelle Pruett went to see Cal and his dog Spot and, federal authorities say, she took the auto dealership magnate to the cleaners.
Authorities allege that Pruett embezzled $750,000 while working as a bookkeeper for Worthington's Folsom Imports and other Worthington enterprises and then bankrolled a high life at Lake Tahoe casinos.
Using the embezzled money, Pruett hit a $1 million jackpot in March at an exclusive video poker tournament, said Karen Ernst, FBI spokeswoman. Pruett, 38, was allowed to enter the tournament because she and her husband, Kenneth Richard Pruett, 44, had spent their way into the "Seven Star Players" club, the highest membership level at Harrah's and Harvey's casinos.
"I plan to travel the globe and continue to play at Harvey's!" Susan Pruett is quoted as saying in a casino news release after beating 218 other players for the March 21 jackpot. After the four-hour tournament, the smiling Pruetts were photographed holding a poster-sized check for $1 million.
Agents from the Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigation division and the FBI arrested the Pruetts at their Folsom home Tuesday morning. They appeared in federal court and were released on bail. The Pruetts were indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday.
Susan Pruett faces 47 counts of mail fraud. She and her husband each face three counts of tax evasion and one count of money laundering, according to Ernst.
Efforts to reach the Pruetts and officials at Folsom Imports were unsuccessful Tuesday.
After Susan Pruett hit the $1 million video poker jackpot, agents from the IRS seized nearly half of the winnings under a federal civil seizure warrant issued April 3.
"At that point, a case obviously had been opened," Ernst said. "That's what I think is such a hoot -- that she's gambling, wins this $1 million prize and the IRS says, 'We'll take half of that.' "
If the Pruetts are found guilty, the $497,000 seized from Susan Pruett's jackpot could be used as restitution for Worthington.
"It appears that they enjoyed gambling, so a lot of that (allegedly embezzled) money is probably gone, but at least the government got some of the money back," Ernst said.
Susan Pruett allegedly forged signatures on 54 checks totaling more than $750,000 and sent the money to her own business, Pruett Professional Services, local accounts and accounts in Montana during the past four years, Ernst said. The U.S. attorney's office alleges that Pruett created a second set of checks to legitimate business clients in order to conceal the embezzlement between May 2002 and February 2006.
The Pruetts face tax-evasion charges alleging they did not report the embezzled funds on their tax returns, an underpayment of federal taxes totaling $179,000.
The money-laundering charge stems from a $14,000 electronic funds transfer the Pruetts made from a Montana account to the California Franchise Tax Board, which violates a federal law against transactions larger than $10,000 involving stolen money, the FBI said.
The maximum penalty for each of the mail fraud charges Susan Pruett faces is 20 years in prison. Each of the tax-evasion charges carries a maximum penalty of five years behind bars, and the money-laundering charges carry a maximum of 10 years.
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush
05-31-2006, 11:56 AM
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Originally Posted by nKoan
If you're going to embezzle money, at the very least, you shouldn't send it to your own business with your own name in the business name.
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