Earlier this year, 49-year-old Madelyn Hernandez of Lee County, Florida, confessed to committing wire fraud and laundering money
A textile and apparel company’s ex-worker will spend 10 years in jail for stealing over $4 million from her employer and trying to fake her death when her scam started to fall apart.
Florida Woman Gets 10 Years for $4M Fraud After Years of Embezzling
Madelyn Hernandez, 49, from Lee County Florida, admitted to wire fraud and money laundering charges earlier this year. On April 22, a federal judge gave her a 10-year prison sentence and told her to give up all the money she stole.
Officials report that Hernandez, who had worked from home since 2004 used her job to steal from the New York-based company over many years, reported The Independent. Her duties included managing shipping, billing, and working with suppliers. From 2018 to 2024, she created fake bills from made-up or shell supply businesses, including one she set up herself.
Money meant for real suppliers ended up in bank accounts she owned. Investigators found that Hernandez spent the stolen cash on personal things and to support her gambling problem.
The company did not spot the money scam for a long time. However, in mid-2024, the firm — which had switched to full remote work in 2019 — started an internal check as it got ready to shut down. The review found weird stuff in billing and stock counts leading to a closer look at Hernandez’s work.
Remote Worker Tried to Fake Death to Evade Fraud Charges
As people dug deeper, the company got a surprise message supposedly from one of Hernandez’s family members saying she had died from surgery problems. Later on, it came out that Hernandez herself wrote this email to try and vanish dodging responsibility for her actions.
The weird situation made the company report the case to federal authorities. In October 2024, FBI and IRS agents looked through Hernandez’s Florida home where they found her still alive. She owned up to planning the money scam and sending the fake death notice.
Court papers showed that Hernandez sometimes gave back small amounts of cash to the company to keep things quiet. She told the investigators she had not realized she had taken millions in total.
After she pleaded guilty in January, prosecutors stressed how well-planned the scam was and how far Hernandez went to dodge prosecution.
The textile and apparel company, which stays unnamed in official papers, has not issued any official statement regarding the case.
