Bookeeper Goes to Prison for Embezzling Over $1M Dollars

Asheville -- June 16, 2023: According to Dena J. King, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, a bookkeeper was sentenced to prison Thursday for stealing more than $1.35 Million from his employer.

Danny Dale Tremble, 49, of Conover, North Carolina, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger to 41 months in prison, three months of supervised release, and $1,639,659.99 in restitution.

The announcement is made yesterday,  U.S. Attorney King along with Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Donald "Trey" Eakins, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, Charlotte Field Office (IRS-CI).

Tremble carried out a plot between October 2013 and December 2021 to steal from and defraud his Asheville-based employer, Azalea Management and Leasing, Inc. (Azalea), according to court records and court proceedings. Tremble was an accountant at Azalea and as such had access to the company's financial information and accounting records. Tremble frequently misused his access to Azalea's bank accounts throughout the scam to steal company monies, which he then used to settle personal credit card debt and pay for personal expenses including opulent hotel stays, fine meals, and shopping. Tremble also bought a camper, a boat, a trailer, a pickup truck, and many weapons using the company's stolen money.

From U.S. Attorney's Office Western North Carolina District  Press Release June 15, 2023

Court documents show that Tremble failed to report any of the embezzled income on his Joint Individual Income Tax Returns, Forms 1040, amounting to a federal tax loss of $288,716.
On February 13, 2023, Tremble pleaded guilty to wire fraud and filing a false tax return. He is currently released on bond and will be ordered to surrender to the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
U.S. Attorney King thanked the FBI and IRS-CI for their investigation of the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville handled the prosecution.

WNCTimes

Source: U.S. Attorney's Office Western North Carolina District