S.A. bookkeeper agrees to repay $1.8M

Ex-law firm employee still faces prison when she is sentenced in federal court for fraud

A bookkeeper who stole $1.8 million from a San Antonio law firm where she worked for nearly 10 years has entered into a civil court agreement to repay her former employer.

An agreed judgment signed by state District Judge Cathleen Stryker this week allows Shelton & Valadez to recover the roughly $1.8 million Irene M. Scott misappropriated. Post-judgment interest will accrue at 5 percent a year until the amount is paid.

The firm can take the roughly $69,000 Scott had in her 401(k) retirement plan at the law firm.

She also is on the hook to repay about $86,600 in attorneys’ fees the firm incurred in the litigation.

The judgment doesn’t end Scott’s legal troubles. She pleaded guilty to bank fraud and three counts of wire fraud. Sentencing is set for Jan. 25 in San Antonio federal court.

Bank fraud carries up to 30 years in prison, while each wire fraud count carries up to 20 years in prison. Each of the offenses also carries a maximum fine of $1 million. As part of her plea, she has agreed to make restitution.

Just how much Shelton & Valadez expects to actually recover couldn’t be determined. The law firm’s manager didn’t respond to a query. Scott’s civil lawyer also did not reply to an email seeking comment.

Scott, 42, worked at Shelton & Valadez from 2011 until early 2020 when the firm terminated her.

As bookkeeper and financial administrator, Scott prepared financial reports for the firm’s partners — including statements and invoices for vendors and accounts payable. She also oversaw issuing credit cards to the firm’s associates and employees.

According to the judgment, Scott made about $360,000 in unauthorized purchases on the firm’s business credit card from late 2012 through through June 2016.

In June 2016, she opened a new

credit card in the firm’s name and used it to make about $739,000 in unauthorized purchases up until her firing.

Scott also charged about $183,700 on a credit card that was

issued to an employee and should have been closed when the employee left the firm.

In addition, Scott fraudulently wrote herself more than $414,000 in checks from the firm. In the firm’s financial records, she characterized them as vendor payments.

She endorsed the checks with

signature stamps used by name partner Robert Valadez and other members of the firm to sign letters.

Scott also made at least $71,278 in fraudulent draws on a firm line of credit and checking account, the judgment said.

Shelton & Valadez obtained a permanent injunction against

Scott and her husband that prevents them from disposing of any property purchased with the stolen funds, including a 2015 camping trailer.

After her initial court appearance in May, Scott was released on a $20,000 unsecured bond.

Her bond was revoked and she was arrested in August for allegedly

violating the terms of her release. She fraudulently claimed unemployment and obtained weekly payments from the Texas Workforce Commission, federal prosecutors said in a court filing.

Scott has been in custody since her August arrest.