Waynesville Woman: More Than 5 Years $1.5 M for Embezzlement Scheme

Asheville --  Press Release Western District of North Carolina United States Attorney's Office: U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson announced today

that Amy Elizabeth Curry, 48, Waynesville, N.C., was sentenced

to 70 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for embezzling at least $1.5 million from a senior assisted living facility. In addition to the prison term imposed, Curry was ordered to pay the facility $1,469,407.24 in restitution.

Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in North Carolina, and Sheriff William Wilke of the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office, join U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today’s announcement.

According to court records and proceedings, Curry worked as an office manager and bookkeeper at Silver Bluff, LLC (Silver Bluff), a senior living and care facility in Canton, N.C. As part of her duties, Curry had access to and control over Silver Bluff’s bank accounts and accounting records. From December 2022 to April 2023, Curry made at least 154 unauthorized bank transfers totaling over $1.5 million from the facility’s bank accounts to bank accounts controlled by Curry and her then-boyfriend, J.C. To avoid detection, Curry deleted the wire transfer history from Senior Bluff’s bank accounts and altered the notification settings to prevent Silver Bluff employees and management from receiving alerts. Curry also made handwritten notes on Senior Bluff’s bank statements, falsely noting that the fraudulent transfers were for payroll. Court records show that Curry used the embezzled funds to pay for personal expenses, including to purchase a pick-up truck. Curry and J.C. also spent over $700,000 of the embezzled funds gambling at casinos.

On December 11, 2023, Curry pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Curry will be ordered to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving her sentence upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the FBI and the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation of the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case. 

Image: WNCTimes