Andover Nanny Pleads Guilty to Stealing More Than $100,000 from Employer

BOSTON – An Andover woman pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to stealing more than $100,000 from her employer.

Stacy Fortunato, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf who scheduled sentencing for Sept. 11, 2017.

While employed as a nanny from November 2014 to February 2016, Fortunato’s employer provided her with a credit card to make purchases solely related to her work duties. Instead, Fortunato made unauthorized charges and cash withdrawals using the credit card on more than 800 occasions, totaling approximately $120,626. To conceal what she had done, Fortunato made unauthorized electronic payments from her employer’s bank account to her employer’s credit card account. Fortunato also wrote checks for her own personal benefit on her employer’s bank account, forging her employer’s signature to the checks before cashing them. In total, Fortunato defrauded her employer of about $134,000.

 The bank fraud statute provides for a sentence of no greater than 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The wire fraud statute provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Balthazard of Weinreb’s Economic Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.