Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan K. McGuire, who is handling
the case, stated that the defendant was employed by Finger Lakes Conveyors,
Inc. (FLC) as its Director of Finance from 2003 to 2017. Owens had authority to
write and issue checks from FLC's banking account at Five Star Bank to FLC's
vendors and creditors in order to pay legitimate business expenses. The
defendant also had an obligation to record the details of each check she wrote
and issued on behalf of FLC timely and accurately - including check date, check
number, and payee - in FLC's QuickBooks accounting records.
Between June 2, 2011, and August 24, 2017, the defendant
wrote and issued approximately 394 checks payable to herself from FLC's Five
Star Bank account. Owens deposited the checks into an account which she owned
and over which she had control. In addition, between August 30, 2010, and
August 24, 2017, the defendant wrote and issued approximately 162 checks
payable to J.P. Morgan Chase Bank from FLC's Five Star Bank account as payments
on Chase Bank credit card accounts belonging to the defendant and her husband.
In order to conceal some of the fraudulent and unauthorized checks, Owens
failed accurately to record the checks in FLC's QuickBooks accounting record;
instead, she falsely recorded the checks as payment for legitimate business
expenses.
Owens wrote checks totaling more than $750,000.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge
Robert Guyton.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 9, 2020, before Judge
Geraci.