BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- A former bookkeeper was sentenced to serve time in prison after over $260,000 from her Orchard Park employer, the Erie County District Attorney announced.
Michele Boland, 52, of Gowanda was sentenced to one to three years in state prison Monday. Boland previously pleaded guilty to grand larceny and offering a false instrument for filing.
Boland, while working as a bookkeeper for a business in Orchard Park, wrote a series of checks to herself from February 2016 to August 2022, totaling $266,963.30. Authorities said she purposely mislabeled the checks in the company's accounting software to "appear as legitimate business expenses."
Authorities said Boland's theft was discovered after the business noticed irregularities on a company credit card.
Boland, authorities said, used the stolen money to pay her personal credit card bills. She also paid herself several bonus checks through the company's payroll provider and failed to declare any of the additional funds on her personal taxes.
As part of her guilty plea, Boland was ordered to pay full restitution to the business and an additional $16,400.33 in restitution to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. As of January, she has yet to pay any restitution.
