Fresno, California - Shelley Corkins, aka Shelley Kimbrell, 39, of Fresno, was sentenced Monday by Senior United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii to two years and three months in prison for three counts of wire fraud in connection with a scheme to embezzle more than $585,000 from the law firm that formerly employed her, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, Corkins was employed by a Fresno-based law firm as a bookkeeper and accounting department supervisor. Between January 2008 and May 2012, Corkins abused her access and authority to manage the law firm’s finances and embezzled the law firm’s money for her own personal use. Corkins used her company credit card to make personal purchases at various retail outlets, including clothing and toy stores, electronically transferred funds from the law firm’s bank accounts to her own, and embezzled the law firm’s petty cash. Corkins pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud on February 10, 2015.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Henry Z. Carbajal III and Christopher D. Baker prosecuted the case.