Woman convicted of massive theft at Minnesota business

Minneapolis, Minn. (KROC-AM News) – A Minnesota woman has been convicted of embezzling millions of dollars from her employer.

This is according to a press release issued by the United States Attorney's Office in Minnesota.

She was accused of carrying out the theft for more than six years from a business owned by a longtime family friend.

Court documents indicate he is 53 years old Jennifer Lee Rath used her position as financial controller at an unnamed heavy civil construction company in Hutchinson to enrich herself using company funds.

She regularly altered, for her own benefit, checks that appeared to have been cut to cover the company's debts. The press release says she used money from the checks to pay her own credit card bills, tax debts and other expenses.

The Hutchinson woman also used company electronic fund transfers for personal use and ran up personal charges on company credit cards. Rath would cover his tracks by modifying the company's financial management software, according to court documents.

In total, Rath stole $2,061,328.67 from his employer. The press release states that Rath's theft resulted in loss of employment, late payments to suppliers and damaged the company's credit and reputation.

Rath pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in September. She was sentenced this week to 41 months in federal prison.

The time spent behind bars will be followed by three years of supervised release. Rath was also ordered to repay the money she stole.