Simsbury Woman Enters Plea In Embezzlement Scheme

NEW HAVEN, CT — A Simsbury woman accused of participating in an embezzlement scheme worth more than a half-million dollars pleaded guilty Tuesday before a U.S. District Judge.

Pamela Hill, 55, waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jeffery A. Meyer in New Haven to one count of wire fraud, according to John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Brian C. Turner, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Hill embezzled $518,161.48 from a company where she was employed as a controller between 2013 and 2018. She wrote company checks to herself, applied signature stamps with the owner’s signature to the checks, and deposited the checks into her own bank account. She also issued electronic payments to her bank account and disguised the payments to make them appear to be payments to vendors, Durham said.

When the company’s CFO questioned Hill about a vendor payment in Dec. 2018, Hill provided the CFO with an altered bank statement that falsely reflected the payment had been credited back to the company’s account. The investigation also revealed she defrauded a separate individual for whom she provided bookkeeping services, Durham said.

Judge Meyer scheduled sentencing for March 2, 2020, at which time Hill faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. She is currently free on $100,000 bond pending sentencing, according to Durham.