The FBI arrested a former Stanton woman now living in Arkansas for defrauding a now defunct Los Alamitos business, federal officials announced Friday, June 10.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and the Los Alamitos Police Department, with the assistance of the FBI’s Little Rock Field Office.
Authorities have accused Juliana James England, 45, of Searcy, Arkansas, of writing company checks to herself and for her personal use over a seven-year period.
England was arrested last week at her current residence by agents with the FBI’s Little Rock Field Office.
Thom Mrozek, public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, said England’s initial court appearance was held Friday, June 10 in the U.S. District Court in Little Rock, Arkansas.
“I have very few details, but on Friday, she was released on bond and was ordered to appear in federal court in Santa Ana for an arraignment … but a date has not yet been set. It will likely be in two to three weeks,” Mrozek said.
A federal grand jury in Orange County, Calif., returned an indictment Thursday, June 8, charging England with three counts of mail fraud. An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. An indictment is not a conviction.
A grand jury, be it county or federal, only hears evidence from a prosecutor. England has not yet had her day in court. Her first court appearance was scheduled for Friday, June 10, in Little Rock. However, the case will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Orange County, Calif.
The accusation
According to the federal indictment, England defrauded her employer beginning in or about March 2000, and continuing through in or about August 2007, while she worked part-time at Callan Western Sales, a business that sold sporting goods on behalf of manufacturers.
According to the indictment, England was hired part time to do administrative work for CWS. One of her jobs was to prepare checks drawn on the company’s Bank of America account.
According to the FBI, England also had online access to the company account. England was expected to arrange and pay for travel-related expenses incurred by company employees, as well as other CWS expenses.
England wrote company checks to herself and for her personal use.
She also accessed the company’s online account and made payments to her personal credit cards.
In order to further conceal the unauthorized charges, England contacted the issuers of the company’s credit card and changed the address for account statements to a post office box in her name and to her home address, according to the indictment.
The CWS story
England lived in Orange County at the time of the alleged fraud, according to the FBI.
CWS was a family owned business that operated between 1976 and 2007. The business was located on Calle Lee in Los Alamitos.
In 2007, financial problems forced the company to close doors.
That’s apparently when the owners discovered something was wrong. The owners received credit card statements with charges listed that were not related to the business.
The charges reportedly included England’s personal expenses, including airline tickets for family members. Upon further investigation, the company owners discovered the extent of the fraud and reported it to law enforcement.
According to the FBI, investigators have determined that England stole nearly $400,000 from CWS.
If convicted on the charges, England could face a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison.
