Former Account Manager Indicted by Mass. AG in Connection with Stealing Over $70,000 From Client

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August 13, 2008 -- BOSTON – Today, a Suffolk County Grand Jury returned indictments against a former account manager at a local wealth management company for allegedly stealing more than $70,000 from a client to pay her personal credit card bills. Donna Payne, age 39, of Mattapan, was charged with Larceny over $250 and Making False Entries in Corporate Books.

In August 2007, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office began an investigation after the alleged thefts were reported to the Office by Payne’s client. In March 2006, the client engaged the services of a downtown Boston wealth management company. Payne was working at the company as an account manager, and she was assigned to manage the client’s personal accounts. In order to manage the accounts, the client gave Payne the account password. Authorities allege that between August 2006 and May 2007, Payne stole money from her client’s checking account and allegedly made numerous fraudulent payments to her own personal credit cards. Payne allegedly electronically transferred money from her client’s checking account to her own personal credit card accounts. Investigators also discovered that the client’s account had been accessed and the fraudulent credit card payments were mislabeled. Authorities allege that Payne intentionally mislabeled these transactions in order to hide the true nature of the credit card payments. In total, Payne allegedly stole over $70,000 from her client.

A Suffolk County Grand Jury returned indictments against Payne today. She is scheduled to be arraigned on September 17, 2008, in Suffolk Superior Court.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General David Waterfall, of Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Corruption and Fraud Division, with assistance fromFinancial Investigator James McFadden.

Source: Massachusetts Attorney General