Virginia Beach, Va. – A Virginia Beach woman was found to be stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from local construction companies, according to the United States Attorney of the Eastern District of Virginia.
Paula G. Akers, age 51, of Virginia Beach was sentenced on Monday, February 9, 2015, to two years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for mail fraud.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and John S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after Jackson’s sentencing before United States District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.
Akers was charged with the offense in a criminal information that was filed in federal court on August 4, 2014. Akers later waived indictment and pleaded guilty to mail fraud on September 24, 2014, officials say.
According to court records, Akers, who was a long-time trusted bookkeeper of local construction companies, was found to be stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the companies. Akers opened personal credit cards at the same institutions as her clients, and then proceeded to use more than $300,000 of the companies’ funds to pay her personal credit card bills for items such as spa visits, vacations, tanning and nail salons and numerous clothing stores. One of the victim companies almost had to shut its doors due to the theft, according to the release from the Department of Justice.
This case was investigated by the FBI with the assistance of the Virginia Beach Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Yusi prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
