A Frederick woman who was accused of organizing a fundraiser for a co-worker's ailing child and siphoning proceeds of the event for personal use pled guilty in Frederick County Circuit Court September 22nd to "benefiting from the fundraiser," according to authorities. Thirty-two-year-old Jessica Ann Jeffries also pled guilty to attempted theft at her subsequent post at Mattress Warehouse.
The scheme involving the sick child occurred at Crowley Micrographics, according to documents filed in Frederick County Circuit Court. In response to management inquiries about the state of Crowley's fiscal affairs, Jeffries is said to have told a co-worker that the organization would soon discover "some money missing" and indicated that she intended to seek a new job. Representatives from Crowley alerted the Frederick County Sheriff's Office in December, and Deputy First Class Jeff Norris initiated an investigation into the financial irregularities first noticed by the company.
Norris discovered that Jeffries had been using a company credit card without authorization to do so, and had written herself checks in amounts ranging from $2,000 to $3,800. Jeffries was also tasked with making arrangements and shopping for the sick child of her co-worker, and surveillance video revealed that she used gift cards intended to be used as prizes for the benefit, ostensibly for personal reasons. Footage shows Jeffries using the stolen gift cards while shopping with her two small children. She was also accused of writing a reimbursement check to herself for just under $500 while working for Mattress Warehouse after she was forbidden to do so by her supervisors.
Jeffries' Maryland criminal defense attorney negotiated a plea deal with Assistant State Attorney Erin Moloney, and Jeffries opted not to make a statement in court before her sentence was announced. Circuit Judge John Tisdale ordered Jeffries to pay nearly $22,000 in restitution and perform 100 hours of community service. She also received a 10-year suspended sentence, with three years of supervised probation.
This article is presented by Price Benowitz, LLP, serving Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. For more information, please visit our Washington DC Criminal Lawyer and Virginia Criminal Attorneys websites.
