Ashburn Woman Sentenced to Prison for Embezzlement

ASHBURN, VA – Dorothea Lassiter, 45, of Ashburn, was sentenced on Dec. 2 to 18 months in prison for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. She was also ordered to pay restitution and agreed to an asset forfeiture judgment of more than $258,000, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) announcement.

According to court documents, Lassiter was an accountant for a transportation logistics company in Chantilly that provided home and business delivery services. From at least July 2011 through Dec. 2015, Lassiter and a co-employee in the company’s claims department, Okai Quashie-Idun, engaged in an embezzlement scheme that included five other co-conspirators who were non-employees. With Lassiter’s assistance, Idun created false property damage claims and then forwarded the fictitious claims to Lassiter, who would create a corresponding account payable, generate checks for each false claim, and remit the checks to the payees who agreed to deposit or cash the checks. Typically, a large portion of the embezzled funds were deposited into Lassiter’s bank account, who would then provide a portion of the funds to Idun, according to the DOJ.

Lassiter pleaded guilty on Sept. 7, Idun on Sept. 13, and one of the payees, Denise (“Dennis”) Crawford, on Oct. 25. Idun and Crawford are both awaiting sentencing, according to the announcement.

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