Alicia Raynor, 42, of Westfield, NY, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and filing a false tax return. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney John D. Fabian, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant was hired as a business manager for Compassion at Home, Inc. Her duties included, among other things, managing company finances and payroll. At various times during the company’s operation, payroll and other financial payments were made from different company bank accounts. While working as a business manager for the company, Raynor opened an account with Intuit, Inc., a payroll and payment processing service located outside the state of New York. The Intuit account enabled Compassion at Home, by way of wire transfers, to direct deposit payroll into employees’ bank accounts and otherwise make other direct deposit payments related to Compassion at Home’s business expenses. The payments were made using an accounting software package known as Quickbooks, which linked to Compassion at Home’s bank account. While employed with Compassion at Home, the defendant diverted money from Compassion at Home’s bank accounts to accounts that she controlled. In order to avoid detection, Raynor disguised Quickbook entries to make it appear that the payments were to Bank of America, Capital One, or Compassion at Home employees. Between August 2015 and June 2016, the defendant fraudulently diverted approximately $238,871.58 from the company’s bank account. This amount includes funds to which she was not entitled for compensation or reimbursement for expenses.
