[PR] D.C. Woman Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Two Non-Profit Organizations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, April 12, 2021

Defendant Attempted to Steal More than $200,000 from Her Two Former Employers

            WASHINGTON – Maxine Marie Williams, 49, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty on April 6, 2021 to attempting to steal more than $200,000 from two former employers, both non-profit organizations in the District of Columbia. The guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips, U.S Postal Inspector in Charge for the Washington Division Peter Rendina, and Metropolitan Police Department Acting Chief Robert J. Contee III.

            Williams worked for one non-profit organization from approximately 2015 through March 2018. Her job responsibilities included processing donation checks that were mailed to the office, and preparing and mailing checks to vendors, service providers, and individuals. From November 2015 through March 2018, she stole 171 checks totaling $161,084.23 from the organization. Most of the checks were charitable contributions that were mailed to the organization’s office in Washington. Other checks consisted of outgoing payments from the organization to vendors, service providers, and individuals. Of the $161,084.23 in stolen checks, more than $140,000 was successfully deposited into accounts associated with Williams, including a $5,000 donor check that Williams deposited at an ATM in Hyattsville, Maryland.

            After Williams was terminated from the first organization in March 2018, she secured employment with the second organization, a non-profit trade association headquartered in Washington. Between December 2018 and June 2019, Williams stole 33 checks totaling $43,398.93 from the second organization. She successfully deposited more than $38,000 into her bank account.

            Williams pled guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2314. The maximum sentence for this offense is ten years of imprisonment. Under federal sentencing guidelines, however, Williams faces a likely recommended sentence of between 12 and 18 months in prison. As part of her plea agreement, she will be responsible for repaying the stolen funds. The Honorable Amit P. Mehta, who accepted Williams’ guilty plea, scheduled sentencing for July 13, 2021.

            In announcing the plea, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips, Inspector in Charge Rendina, and Acting Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia including Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi Kleinman, Financial Analyst Bryan Snitselaar, Paralegal Specialist Michon Tart, and former Paralegal Specialist Brittany Phillips.