Riddle Bookkeeper Pleads Guilty in $1 Million Embezzlement Scheme
A 53-year-old Riddle woman has pleaded guilty to federal fraud and tax charges after admitting to stealing at least $944,000 from her former employer, Tower Timber Services, over nearly a decade.
RIDDLE, Ore. - A former bookkeeper for a Riddle lumber company has pleaded guilty to federal fraud and tax charges after admitting to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from her employer over nearly a decade.
Christina Klauda, 53, of Riddle, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and two counts of filing false federal income tax returns, according to an announcement Wednesday, November 4, from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon.
Klauda worked as the office manager and bookkeeper for Tower Timber Services Inc., a lumber company based in Riddle. Her responsibilities included managing payroll, paying bills, handling invoices and preparing employee tax documents.
Federal prosecutors say she used that access to steal money from the company between 2014 and 2023.
According to court documents, Klauda increased her own hourly and overtime pay rates and recorded more hours than she actually worked. In 2018, she took the scheme further by creating a second employee profile in the company's accounting system, allowing her to receive duplicate payroll payments.
She received some payments through direct deposit and others through paper checks, then deleted records of the additional transactions to conceal them.
Investigators also found that Klauda used the company owner's signature stamp without permission to write checks to herself and her personal creditors. She disguised those payments as loans, reimbursements or draws and removed them from the company's financial records.
The U.S. Attorney's Office estimates Tower Timber lost more than $1.08 million during the scheme. As part of her plea agreement, Klauda acknowledged stealing at least $944,371.97.
The investigation also uncovered unreported income on Klauda's federal tax returns. Prosecutors said she failed to report approximately $38,140 in stolen income in 2018 and another $74,144 in 2019, resulting in a combined federal tax loss of $27,985.
Klauda has agreed to pay restitution to the victims, including Tower Timber and the Internal Revenue Service. The total amount is estimated to be between $972,356.97 and $1,111,771.56.
The bank fraud conviction carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison, five years of supervised release and a $1 million fine. Each tax charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a $100,000 fine.
The actual sentence will be determined by the federal court.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine A. Rykken.
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