FORT SMITH -- A Van Buren woman was sentenced in federal court Thursday to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $177,000 restitution for stealing money from two companies for which she worked.
Lisa Charlene Lamb, 40, pleaded guilty in February to one count of wire fraud in a plea agreement in which the government dismissed one count of bank fraud and another count of wire fraud, court records showed.
A federal criminal complaint said Lamb worked as a secretary and bookkeeper for Precision Metal Works Inc., a welding, machining and fabrication company in Van Buren. She also did work as needed for Tans of the Tropic, a tanning salon in Van Buren. Both companies were controlled by John Burgett.
The government charged that Lamb wrote checks on the companies' bank accounts as legitimate business payments to fictitious vendors and deposited the checks into her personal bank account. She also took out personal loans from out-of-state lenders and paid them off with money from the bank accounts of Precision Metal Works and Tans of the Tropic.
The charge for which she pleaded guilty accused Lamb of paying her personal credit card debt with money from the Precision Metal Works bank account, according to court records.
The government accused Lamb of using the stolen money to pay for a cruise, dine at restaurants, pay personal utility bills, restore a vintage Mustang and buy clothes.
State Desk on 08/12/2018