A paralegal for an Atlanta real estate law firm will spend the next three years in federal prison for redirecting $260,000 to an account for her personal use.
Ola Suzanne Stowers, 34, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta after pleading guilty in April to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.
Stowers, of Dawsonville in north Georgia, was a closing paralegal and database manager at a real estate law firm and had been working there since 1999.
Prosecutors say that from July 2008 to June 2010, the she moved thousands of dollars into a Bank of America account the law firm had ordered her to shut down.
Instead, she kept the account active and had statements redirected to her own address.
Stowers forged the signature of one of the firm’s partners to make withdrawals for her own personal use.
In June 2008, Stowers transferred $176,946.79 from the firm’s escrow account into the fraud account, pushing its balance to $194,007. Less than a year later, the balance was down to $959.
Low on funds, Stowers moved $82,727.42 in checks made payable to the law firm into the BOA account in April 2010. Again, she forged the signature of one of the firm’s partners to withdraw money from the account.
In addition to the three-year sentence, Stowers must pay $260,171.94 in restitution.
About the Author
