Woman sentenced for fraud

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A Seymour woman received a 41-month prison term Friday in federal court for her role in a fraud scheme that left her former employer in debt.

Angela Kincaid was sentenced to spend that time in federal prison by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Richard L. Young in Indianapolis, according to a news release from United States District Attorney Josh Minkler.

The 44-year-old used her position as bookkeeper to conceal the thefts from her former employer, EngineAir Inc., Minkler said.

The small family manufacturing business in Seymour provides remanufactured and some new components for locomotives.

On April 8, in Jackson Superior Court I, Judge Bruce Markel III awarded the company a default judgment against Kincaid for $621,621.54 and $6,655 in attorney fees.

Just a month after starting as bookkeeper, she began cutting company checks to herself by forging the company president’s signature, according to court records.

Overall, Kincaid forged more than 170 checks and stole more than $625,000, which she spent largely on personal luxuries, such as second and third homes, cars, vacations, jewelry, NFL football tickets, guitars, amps, drums and more than 35 firearms, Minkler said.

She used her position as bookkeeper and the trust and authority the company’s managers afforded her to conceal her fraud, he said.

Kincaid made numerous false entries in the company’s accounting ledger that omitted any reference to the checks she cut to herself, he said.

In addition, upon learning the company had hired an outside auditor to review its books and compare them to bank records, Kincaid manipulated copies of the bank records in a way that completely concealed her embezzlement, according to court records.

When the company’s bank account ran low — due to her thefts — Kincaid created a false email account and impersonated a company official to authorize the bank to replenish the company’s checking account from its line of credit.

Not only did Kincaid steal the company’s cash, but her scheme also put it several hundred thousand dollars in debt, Minkler said.

“Fraud cannot, and will not, be tolerated, especially fraud by company insiders,” he said.

According to Assistant United States Attorney Nick Linder, who prosecuted this case for the government, Kincaid must make full restitution to the victim company and serve three years of supervised release after her prison term.

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