Essex Junction Woman Pleads Guilty In Years Long Embezzlement Scheme
Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 9:15 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
RUTLAND, VT.- On Monday, October 28, 2024, Jennifer LaBonte, 45, of Essex Junction, Vermont, appeared in U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Mary K. Lanthier to one count of Wire Fraud in connection with a years-long embezzlement scheme from her Burlington, Vermont employer.
Following entering her guilty plea, Judge Lanthier accepted the plea and released LaBonte from federal custody on bail conditions pending sentencing that Judge Lanthier scheduled for March 4, 2025, at which time, LaBonte faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the amount of the loss.
According to U.S. Attorney Nikolas Kerest, on October 2, 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed an information charging LaBonte with a single count of wire fraud, after being charged LaBonte was taken into custody and jailed.
According To Charging Documents
According to the charging information, between 2001 and January 2024, LaBonte was employed by automobile dealerships in Burlington, Vermont. Beginning in and around 2012 until her termination, LaBonte served as an office manager for the dealerships, a position that allowed LaBonte access to the dealerships’ banking information, accounting oversight, and check-signing authority.
Beginning no later than 2013, LaBonte began embezzling corporate funds from the dealerships, stealing cash receipts that had been paid to the dealerships by customers. She also issued checks to herself for non-business-related purposes.
LaBonte attempted to cover up her thefts by manipulating and falsifying entries about individual transactions in the dealerships’ accounting systems. A dealership corporate officer uncovered the fraud in January 2024, and LaBonte was immediately terminated from her employment.
The total loss uncovered in LaBonte’s embezzlement scheme was just short of $200,000. During Monday’s plea hearing, the owners of the dealerships in court reported that LaBonte had provided them with a check that repaid the stolen funds in full.
