North Texas Woman Sentenced To Federal Prison For Theft Of Nearly $1-Million From Jewish Federation

A 64-year-old Saginaw woman has been sentenced to federal prison for bank fraud. Laurie Ann Reese pleaded guilty on July 18, 2018, to bank fraud and was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means on Mar. 26, 2019. Reese was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $992,854.02.

According to information presented in court, between Jan. 6, 2013, and April 19, 2018, Reese, while a controller for the Jewish Federation of Fort Worth and Tarrant County (JFFWTC), devised and executed a scheme to make approximately 326 checks payable to herself from the JFFWTC bank accounts. Reese spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the Home Shopping Network and QVC.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Eastern District of Texas Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher A. Eason.