PROVIDENCE – A Pawtucket woman was charged in federal court with allegedly executing a scheme to defraud her employer, an auto body repair shop, of $580,000, the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Rhode Island announced Thursday.
Idalee Johnston, a secretary of Ideal Auto Body in Cranston, allegedly created a scheme in which she pocketed the proceeds from roughly 190 checks provided to customers by insurance companies as payment for repairs to their vehicles.
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The U.S Attorney’s Office alleged that for two years starting in 2016, Johnson devised a system to steal and deposit some of the checks, some on which she forged signatures, into her bank account. In other instances, checks were allegedly provided to family members to be cashed. The money allegedly was handed over to Johnston, and family members were paid a small portion of the funds.
Johnston, 47, has been charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft.
