Former Accountant Funnels $800k From Employer to Her Bank Account

Martinez, California –  A former accountant for a paver company in Richmond has been charged with a six-count felony complaint related to embezzlement, money laundering, identity theft, and tax evasion.

Angela Fae Brown, 53 from Olivehurst, CA in Yuba County was arraigned today on charges in Contra Costa Superior Court. Between September 2017 and November 2022, Brown engaged in an embezzlement scheme that bilked over $800k from her employer, Viking Pavers in Richmond.  Brown used her accounting skills to exploit financial vulnerabilities in the company to illegally enrich herself for nearly five years.

She did this by:

1. Pretending to be the owner of Viking Pavers and creating a fake online account with a payment processing service linked to her personal bank account.
2. Generating hundreds of phony invoices for services and sending them electronically to the fake account she controlled.
3. Brown paid these fake invoices with the company’s funds through the online payment processing platform — which funneled the money into her own account.
4. Brown’s trusted employee status — and access to various financial controls —  allowed her to conceal her embezzlement scheme for a long time.

A manager eventually suspected Brown’s fraudulent actions and confronted her. Richmond Police who, along with financial forensics analysts from the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, investigated Brown’s actions. She was arrested on April 19th, 2024, and is currently in custody at the Martinez Detention Facility. Her bail is set at two-million-dollars.

District Attorney Diana Becton said, “In white-collar crimes, it’s of paramount importance for our Special Operations Unit to use forensic tools to recover stolen funds; funds some have gone to great lengths to conceal.”

Case No. 02-24-00513 | The People of the State of California v. Brown, Angela Fae

1. PC 530.5(a)-felony: Identity theft
2. PC 186.10(a)-felony: Money laundering
3. PC 487(a)-f: Grand theft of money, labor, or real or personal property exceeding $950
4. PC 529(a)(3)-felony: False personation
5. PC 186.10(a)-felony: Money laundering
6. RT 19705(a)(4)-felony: Concealing property with intent to evade tax

— Special Allegation PC 186.11(a)(2) : aggravated white-collar crime – taking more than $500,000

Other recent Richmond News

• March 19 –  Richmond Man Charged with Multiple Felonies Related to Illegal Weapons Possession
• March 5 – Richmond Resident Charged With Smuggling Ammunition From United States To Brazil