Bookkeeper gets 5 years in prison for embezzling $740,000 from law firm, defrauding RI

PROVIDENCE – A woman who admitted embezzling more than $740,000 from a Rhode Island law firm was sentenced to five years in federal prison on Tuesday. Sarah Gaulin, 39, a former office manager and bookkeeper the firm Hamel, Waxler, Allen and Collins (HWAC), also admitted to fraudulently collecting nearly $20,000 in temporary disability insurance payments, according to Acting United States Attorney for Rhode Island Richard B, Myrus.

Judge William E. Smith ordered Gaulin to pay restitution of $740,953 to the law firm and $19,588 to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.

She used the law firm's money to pay for expenses such as her rent, mortgage, automobile lease and repairs, and AT&T service, Myrus said. Gaulin used more than 550 forged law firm checks to purchase $292,190 worth of gift cards from Staples. Claiming that she couldn't work due to injury or illness, Gaulin also collected about $19,588 in temporary disability payments from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training while still employed, according to Myrus.

https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/crime/2021/03/31/bookkeeper-gets-5-years-prison-embezzling-law-firm/4817766001/