Dartmouth Woman Indicted for Embezzling From Multiple Employers

BOSTON - A Dartmouth woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston for allegedly embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from two different employers.

Jasmyne Botelho, 41, was charged with two counts of wire fraud. Botelho was previously arrested and charged by criminal complaint in December 2023.

According to the charging documents, between September 2017 and April 2020, Botelho stole at least $280,000 from her employer. Specifically, it is alleged that Botelho directed payments purportedly intended for the company's vendors to bank accounts she controlled and used company funds to make payments on personal credit cards and an auto loan. To hide her scheme, Botelho allegedly falsified her employer's books and records to make it appear as though the payments had in fact been sent to legitimate vendors rather than to Botelho.

It is further alleged that, between May 2022 and December 2023, Botelho improperly inflated her payroll from another employer by more than $160,000. Botelho allegedly concealed her scheme by manipulating her employer's payroll and accounting software to hide her inflated payroll as well as phony "reimbursements" she paid herself.

The charge of wire fraud provides a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen A. Kearney of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.