Nicole Morales, a 48-year-old from Altadena, California, and originally from St. Croix, has pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Delia L. Smith. Morales entered her plea before Magistrate Judge Emile A. Henderson III. Her sentencing is set for March 19, 2025, where she could face up to 20 years in prison. The final sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge who will consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Court records reveal that Morales began working as an Office Manager at Nichols, Newman, Logan, Grey, and Lockwood, P.C., located in St. Croix on November 10, 2015. Her responsibilities included processing payroll through Banco Popular. Starting December 31 of the same year, Morales started inflating her payroll figures using QuickBooks accounting software.
Morales then transferred unauthorized funds from her employer's Banco Popular account into three personal bank accounts she owned. After these transfers were made, she would adjust the inflated amounts in QuickBooks to reflect accurate income and payroll data before generating reports with correct figures for approval by her employer.
This fraudulent activity continued until January 11, 2019, resulting in an embezzlement total of $372,496.34 from her employer.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation into this case which was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel H. Huston.