BF woman sentenced for defrauding employer, filing false tax return

COEUR d'ALENE — Jamie Gillette, 53, of Bonners Ferry was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for wire fraud and making and subscribing a false tax return, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced today.

Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye also imposed a term of three years of supervised release to follow Gillette’s prison sentence and ordered her to pay $305,185 in restitution to the victims of the embezzlement and $108,287 in restitution to the IRS. Gillette will remain in local custody pending her designation to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.

According to court records, from in or about 2011 through in or about 2015, Gillette devised a scheme to defraud, and to misappropriate without authority money and property belonging to her employer, Bendable Bright Light, Inc. Specifically, Gillette had access to BBL’s business bank account both as signor on the account and through the online payment portal. Using this access, Gillette issued checks from BBL’s account to her personal bank account and made online payments from BBL’s account for personal expenses associated with her accounts, without the knowledge or authorization of BBL. At the sentencing hearing, Judge Nye determined that Gillette had embezzled a total of $305,185 from BBL.

According to court records, on or about April 7, 2014, Gillette electronically signed and caused to be filed a 2013 federal income tax return that she knew contained false information. Specifically, Gillette reported that her taxable income for the calendar year 2013 was $8,003, when she knew that her taxable income was much greater. At the sentencing hearing, it was determined that Gillette owed a total of $108,287 in back taxes to the IRS for the tax years of 2011 through 2015.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.