A former travel services manager with the British-based BOC Group gases company was sentenced in federal court on 7 March to 33 months in prison for an embezzlement scheme that defrauded the company o…
A former travel services manager with the British-based BOC Group gases company was sentenced in federal court on 7 March to 33 months in prison for an embezzlement scheme that defrauded the company of more than US$ 3 million, authorities said. US District Judge John Lifland also ordered Pamela Koles, 55, of Jersey City, New Jersey, to make full restitution of the US$ 3.12 million she stole and to pay federal income tax and penalties on the amount, assistant US Attorney Stuart Rabner said. According to court papers, Koles supervised BOC“s in-house travel department, managing US$ 60 million in annual global travel arrangements for the firm“s more than 35,000 employees. In the five-year scheme, she charged hundreds of false invoices to an outside travel agency, pocketing the money for expensive meals and clothing, gourmet food, trips for her and her friends and renovations on her Florida home. Koles, who had been free on US$ 100,000 bond, pleaded guilty in July 2001 to charges of fraud and tax evasion.