Federal judge orders her to pay restitution
A Putnam County woman who stole almost $157,000 from small, local businesses was sentenced to prison by a federal judge July 12 and ordered to pay restitution to the victims.
Alicia Merritt, 48, of Eatonton, admitted to stealing $156,734.76 from Willow Oaks Landscape, The Meat Shed and Vape on the Lake. Each of the Putnam County businesses employed her part-time as a bookkeeper, according to information from the Middle District of Georgia U.S. Attorneys Office.
U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self III sentenced Merritt to serve 24 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Merritt also was ordered to repay $146,660.66 in restitution to the victims.
“Hopefully this sentencing makes a statement that the FBI is committed to making cases like this a strong deterrent to the temptation of greed,” Keri Farley, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta, said in a news release. “Merritt not only defrauded the companies she worked for, she also violated the trust they put in her; and for that, she will be held accountable.”
Merritt’s theft from Willow Oaks Landscape was first discovered by the company’s owner in February 2020, according to court documents. She worked as the bookkeeper for the family-owned business for a decade, and the owner trusted her “completely.” Merritt handled the company’s payroll, vendor payments and reimbursements; she also had access to the company’s credit card. When the business began to lose money, the owner assumed there must be other causes and didn’t suspect Merritt, according to the court documents.
For almost a year at the landscape company, between March 2019 and February 2020, Merritt wrote checks to vendors or to herself for reimbursements that did not exist and cut payroll checks to former employees that she cashed for herself, all to the tune of $108,068.45. Also, Merritt admitted to the court that during that same timeframe, she charged $5,382.90 on the company credit card that she used for personal expenses.
For The Meat Shed and Vape on the Lake, Merritt handled business tax payments to the Georgia Department of Revenue and IRS. She created a scheme in early 2019 in which she convinced the owner that she could better manage his tax payments if he made the checks out to her for the amount owed, and she would subsequently pay the revenue agencies. Later in the year, her demands escalated. She insisted the owner write multiple large payments to meet alleged tax deadlines, but she kept the money for herself and did not pay the taxes owed. In all, Merritt stole at least $33,209.31 from these two businesses.
“The defendant has admitted her wrong-doing and has been held accountable for deceiving three businesses in her community,” U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary said. “Whether a trusted employee steals $100,000 or $1,000,000, fraud ultimately harms lives and can negatively affect a community, as seen in this case. Working with our law enforcement partners, we want to protect hard-working citizens and do everything in our power to stop fraud and restore justice.”
The case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joy Odum prosecuted the case for the government.