Former NC CEO admits embezzling $15 million to fund 'extravagant lifestyle,' feds say [View all]

The former CEO of a North Carolina manufacturer admitted Wednesday to embezzling over $15 million to fund “an extravagant lifestyle” that included $500,000 in jewelry purchases and stays at pricey New York and Hawaii hotels, prosecutors said.

Taylorsville resident Donna Osowitt Steele also admitted to illegally spending $1 million on travel, $200,000 on family weddings, $100,000 on flowers and $100,000 on Gucci purchases, according to documents in U.S. District Court in Statesville.

Steele faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty Wednesday to wire fraud embezzlement scheme, U.S. Attorney Dena King said in a news release. Her sentencing date hasn’t been set.

Steele, who is free pending her sentencing, couldn’t be reached Wednesday. She declined comment when reached by The Charlotte Observer by phone on Dec. 18.

Bernd Motzer, CEO/president of Tigra USA Inc. in Hickory, where Steele pulled off her long-running scheme, recently told the Observer that the company is “gratified that justice is being done.“

Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article257259997.html