The former manager of a Massachusetts independent living community has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for embezzling more than $320,000 from her employer.
Alice Lacroix pleaded guilty in July to nine counts of wire fraud, nine counts of money laundering and two counts of filing false tax returns. The U.S. District Court judge Nov. 23 sentenced her to 52 months in prison, three years of supervised release and to pay restitution of $323,000 for the money she stole.
Lacroix managed Holiday Retirement’s Bluebird Estates in East Longmeadow, MA. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, she took rent checks from tenants as well as other checks and property that belonged to her employer from 2011 to 2013. Lacroix reportedly deposited $325,000 into an unauthorized bank account that she opened in the name of Bluebird Estates.
The former manager “engaged in financial transactions designed to disguise the proceeds of the fraudulent scheme,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “Lacroix would deceive her employer through emails that provided false information about the rent payments she took. Lacroix also submitted false income tax returns for the years 2011 and 2012.”
