Ripon woman faces prison time for embezzlement, identity theft

The former human resources manager of a Lodi real estate management firm was sentenced to three years in state prison after entering a guilty plea to felony charges of false impersonation of another on Monday at the San Joaquin County Superior Court.

Catherine McMurry Blewett, 49, used a misspelled version of her maiden name to apply for the management position at Lodi’s RPM Company. The intentional use of her wrong last name, along with a Social Security number stolen from a stranger in the Bay Area, allowed Blewett to evade background checks that would have revealed two prior convictions for embezzlement.

The first conviction resulted from her tenure as a payroll clerk at Zomax Company in Fremont, where she stole $575,639.85 through payroll fraud between the years of 1999 and 2003. While awaiting sentencing for the Zomax theft, she was hired as the human resources manager for Pacific Coast Industries, based in Tracy. In July 2007, Blewett began writing herself a total of 41 fraudulent paychecks under the name Cathy Owens, a former alias, totaling $57,733.83.

Besides these charges, Blewett has a history of other misdemeanor charges related to theft and forgery dating back to 1988 in Hayward, as well as 1997 in Tracy.

On Monday, Judge Carter Holly sentenced Blewett to three years on state prison, two of which will be served in San Joaquin County Jail, with the final year being served on supervised release. Additionally, the judge ordered $18,102 in restitution to RPM in an effort to correct what was done during Blewett’s tenure there. Restitution to the owner of the stolen Social Security number used was reserved by the court pending claims.