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Bonnie Sweeten, 51, of Delanco, faces two counts of federal wire fraud charges, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced in a release on Monday, Oct. 17.
It's the second time Sweeten, formerly of Feasterville, has been accused of fleecing her employer — in 2012, she was sentenced to 100 months in prison after a federal court convicted her on similar wire fraud charges.
In that case, prosecutors said Sweeten stole thousands from the business where she worked over a period of months, and then fled the area.
Investigators said Sweeten called 911 and reported that she and her 9-year-old daughter were kidnapped at the scene of a car accident.
She told police she was calling from the trunk of a kidnapper's car, officials said. In reality, she was on a plane bound for Florida in what authorities suspect was a bid to outrun the embezzlement charges.
Sweeten was also accused of buying the plane tickets using the stolen identity of a coworker.
On Monday, federal prosecutors accused the 51-year-old of stealing company revenue yet again.
Investigators said Sweeten wrote fraudulent checks to herself from the business checking account, stole checks that were mailed to her employer, and made unauthorized purchases totaling "tens of thousands of dollars" with the company credit card.
If convicted on both counts, the former Bucks County resident could face up to 40 years in federal prison, authorities added.
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