Accountant Charged With Embezzling $800,000 From Paving Firm in California

By Jason Green, Silicon Valley, San Jose, Calif. (TNS)

A former accountant for a Richmond, CA-based paving company is facing allegations she embezzled more than $800,000 from the firm, according to prosecutors.

Angela Fae Brown, 53, of Olivehurst, CA, is charged with embezzlement, money laundering, identity theft, and tax evasion, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. She was arraigned on the felony charges Tuesday.

Brown engaged in an embezzlement scheme between September 2017 and November 2022 that bilked more than $800,000 from her employer, Viking Pavers, according to prosecutors.

“Brown used her accounting skills to exploit financial vulnerabilities in the company to illegally enrich herself for nearly five years,” the district attorney’s office said.

According to prosecutors, Brown pretended to be the owner of the company and created a fake account with a payment processing service linked to her personal bank account.

Brown generated hundreds of phony invoices for services and sent them electronically to the fake account she controlled and then paid them with the company’s funds through the payment processing service, the district attorney’s office said.

This in turn funneled the money into her personal bank account, according to prosecutors.

“Brown’s trusted employee status—and access to various financial controls—allowed her to conceal her embezzlement scheme for a long time,” the district attorney’s office said.

Brown was eventually confronted by a manager, according to prosecutors. The Richmond Police Department, along with financial forensic analysts from the district attorney’s office, launched an investigation, which culminated in her arrest on April 19.

The district attorney’s office said Brown is being held at the Martinez Detention Facility on $2 million bail.

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Accounting