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Date: 01-19-2024
Case Style:
Case Number: 2:20-cr-00079
Judge: Richard A. Jones
Court: The United States Court for the Western District of Washington (King County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office in Seattle
Defendant's Attorney:
Description:
The Defendant used money stolen from company to pay her mortgage and other personal expenses
Seattle – The former bookkeeper of a Mukilteo, Washington, flooring company was convicted today in U.S. District Court in Seattle of four counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Jodi Hamrick, who now resides near Memphis, Tennessee, was convicted following a five-day jury trial. The jury deliberated about eight hours before returning the guilty verdicts.
Hamrick conspired with David M. Gluth, the co-owner of Gluth Contract Flooring, to steal from the company and defraud the silent partner who had put up the money for the business. In the jury trial, prosecutors detailed how Hamrick and Gluth carried out the scheme by embezzling more than $400,000 from the commercial flooring business. Between 2011 and 2016, Gluth and Hamrick raided the company accounts to pay for everything from a home mortgage, to luxury vacations, to Nordstrom bills.
The two not only raided company funds, they also defrauded financial institutions by taking out loans without the knowledge or permission of the company’s co-owner. The two used the company funds for a variety of personal expenses. The lies and deceit in this scheme involved forged signatures, forged documents, altered records, secret bank accounts, secret credit cards, false bookkeeping entries, and false statements in declarations and court filings. The evidence in the case includes years of Skype instant messages between Hamrick and Gluth, showing the planning and execution of the fraud in minute detail.
Ultimately, the company co-owner had to go to court to try to get the truth about the embezzlement from the company. The flooring company went bankrupt in 2016, and the victimized business partner was left with nothing but debt.
In closing arguments prosecutor Jessica M. Ly told the jury, Hamrick’s role was “cooking the books, and keeping the money moving.” They noted that for four years, Hamrick paid her home mortgage with company funds. “Committing fraud was as routine for Jodi Hamrick as having her morning cup of coffee,” Assistant United States Attorney Mike Dion told the jury in closing.
The case was investigated by the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Dion and Special Assistant United States Attorney Jessica M. Ly.
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Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
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