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INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A Shelbyville woman was sentenced to two years in federal prison after embezzling more than half a million dollars from her employer for nearly a decade.
According to court documents, 52-year-old Tammy Scudder, from 2012 to December of 2021, put together and participated in a scheme to defraud her employer Plymate, a uniform and mat rental service in Shelbyville, for more than $600,000.
Scudder was the company’s top accountant and served as the controller, which maintained its accounting ledgers, managed payroll, and had access to online bank accounts. Scudder also had access to the company’s accounting software, which she used to make checks out in her employer’s name.
Court docs say Scudder took advantage of the weakness in the company’s accounting system. She knew the company’s Group Health Plan bank account would be very difficult to double-check since it was funded based on the total amount of the weekly claims on the list it received from another company, rather than by each claim individually.
Scudder accessed the company’s accounting software to generate and print company checks to herself, and signed the checks using another employee’s signature stamp. To hide what she did, Scudder altered and falsified the company’s accounting record.
Scudder used the stolen money to take vacations, pay off personal debts, fund her children’s educational expenses, and make renovations to her home. Between Feb. 2, 2012 – Dec. 17, 2020, she generated 154 false and fraudulent checks equaling a total of $693,708.75.
A judge ordered that Scudder serve two years on probation following her release and pay the full $693,708.75 in restitution to Plymate.
