Woman sentenced for embezzling

A Yukon woman was sentenced Tuesday to three years in federal prison for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from a benefits plan for unionized engineers in Oklahoma.

Susan Michelle Tyson, 51, used the stolen funds to fix up her old house, make renovations to a new house, purchase a motorcycle and pickup, take vacations and give gifts to friends, according to Oklahoma City federal prosecutors.

She admitted to making dozens of unauthorized bank account transfers totaling $467,352.

Tyson didn’t apologize or address the judge during the sentencing, but her attorney, Teresa Brown, said she is remorseful.

“Ms. Tyson would like to start anew,” the defense attorney told the judge, noting Tyson wants to make restitution.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Hale asked the judge to harshly sentence Tyson, calling her “chronically deceitful.” The prosecutor said the embezzlement continued “day after day” for 2 ½ years before she was caught.

“She is a menace to society,” Hale said.

The prosecutor said Tyson was convicted in 2000 in a similar federal wire fraud case in Oklahoma City, spending only a few months in prison. Tyson also stole from a third employer, which was revealed during the 2000 investigation, according to prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton said Tyson has no respect for the law, noting the previous conviction and a risk that she’ll cheat future employers. The judge chose the prison sentence and ordered Tyson pay $309,996 in restitution.

The restitution amount would have been higher but Tyson already turned over more than $150,000 that had been held in escrow for the purchase of a new home.

Tyson, a former bookkeeper at Zenith American Solutions Inc. in Oklahoma City, was charged last year with wire fraud.

In June, she pleaded guilty, admitting to making the fraudulent transfers to her own bank accounts between July 2014 and January 2017.

“I know what I did was wrong and I accept responsibility for my actions,” Tyson stated in plea paperwork.

At the time of the offenses, Zenith American Solutions Inc. managed assets owned by Oklahoma Operating Engineers Welfare Plan, which provided retirement and health benefits to union members, according to prosecutors.

Tyson’s responsibilities included receiving bills from vendors that provided services to the benefits plan and paying those bills from its accounts.

She submitted duplicate invoices to the benefits plan to make it appear that the transfers were legitimate, according to prosecutors.

The judge Tuesday also noted that the punishment was influenced by Tyson’s dishonesty with the U.S. Probation Office pending the sentencing.