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TAMPA — A Brandon woman has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud against her former employer, Jabil Circuit Inc., according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Robert E. O'Neill.
Alesia Ann Spivey, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud against Jabil, and one count of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and theft of government funds. She faces up to 10 years in federal prison for both offenses.
While Spivey worked as a global mobility coordinator and regional relocation program administrator at Jabil's corporate office in St. Petersburg in 2010 and 2011, she conspired to defraud the company by requesting relocation benefits for employees who didn't exist, according to the plea agreement.
The fraudulently obtained relocation funds were funneled into bank accounts of co-conspirators, according to O'Neill. They used disposable mobile phones for calls from Weichert Relocation Resources Inc., Jabil's relocation manager, and to communicate about the relocation packages offered, and to select a bank to receive the lump sum cash payments. After payment was made, the conspirators divided up the fraud proceeds, ultimately defrauding Jabil of $318,764.98 in relocation benefits and fees, O'Neill says.
In a separate plan, between January and August 2012, Spivey and others schemed to file false income tax returns with the IRS to obtain fraudulent refunds, O'Neill reports. They used other people's names, social security numbers, and other identification to electronically file 217 fraudulent federal income tax returns. Many of those whose identities were used were unaware that the returns were being filed.
The 217 fraudulent returns claimed approximately $1,554,493 in bogus tax refunds, and the IRS paid $551,472.90 in refunds to the conspirators, says O'Neill.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the IRS, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Simon Gaugush.
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