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Cynthia Tanner, 54, pleaded guilty in a Hartford federal court to one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion, Daly said.
Tanner was employed as a bookkeeper for the National Veterans Service Fund, based in Darien. The NVSF's mission is to provide case managed social services and limited medical assistance to Vietnam and Persian Gulf War veterans and their families, with a focus on families with disabled children.
According to court documents, Tanner used NVSF funds to pay for personal expenses for herself and her family members from January 2009 to January 2014. She also altered records to conceal her activities and falsely claimed that stolen monies were being paid to veterans in need, according to Daly.
Daly said that Tanner failed to report $794,768.47 in embezzled income on her federal tax returns from 2009 to 2013, resulting in a tax loss of $270,026.
Tanner was arrested on June 2, 2014 and released on a $50,000 bond. The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division and the Darien Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas P. Morabito.
The wire fraud charge carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and the tax evasion charges carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.
Tanner is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton on March 11, 2016.
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