Former flooring company bookkeeper sentenced to three years in prison for scheme to steal from company co-owner

Press Release

Conspired with other company co-owner to steal funds and "cook the books"

Seattle - The former bookkeeper of a Mukilteo, Washington, flooring company was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to three years in prison for four counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Jodi Hamrick, who now resides near Memphis, Tennessee, was convicted following a five-day jury trial. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones said Hamrick "had a pattern and practice of defrauding employers… and continued her manipulation for personal gain." Judge Jones noted Hamrick "was motivated by pure greed. There was no justification, no hardship, no financial need."

According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, Hamrick conspired with David M. Gluth, the co-owner of Gluth Contract Flooring, to steal from the company and defraud the silent partner who had put up the money for the business. In the jury trial, prosecutors detailed how Hamrick and Gluth carried out the scheme by embezzling more than $400,000 from the commercial flooring business. Between 2011 and 2016, Gluth and Hamrick raided the company accounts to pay for everything from a home mortgage, to luxury vacations, to Nordstrom bills.

The two not only raided company funds, they also defrauded financial institutions by taking out loans without the knowledge or permission of the company's co-owner. The two used the company funds for a variety of personal expenses. The lies and deceit in this scheme involved forged signatures, forged documents, altered records, secret bank accounts, secret credit cards, false bookkeeping entries, and false statements in declarations and court filings. The evidence in the case included years of Skype instant messages between Hamrick and Gluth, showing the planning and execution of the fraud in minute detail.

Ultimately, the company co-owner had to go to court to try to get the truth about the embezzlement from the company. The flooring company went bankrupt in 2016, and the victimized business partner was left with nothing but debt.

In imposing the sentence requested by prosecutors, Judge Jones highlighted the fact that Hamrick had stolen from an earlier employer but was not prosecuted for that theft. "You didn't learn from it, you used it as an opportunity to get an advanced degree in theft," Judge Jones said.

Judge Jones will determine how much restitution Hamrick must pay at a hearing scheduled for June 21, 2024. Hamrick will be on supervised release following prison for three years.

Gluth was charged in November 2020, and pleaded guilty in January 2021. Gluth was sentenced in 2021 to two years in prison and agreed to a restitution figure of $325,000.

The case was investigated by the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Dion and Special Assistant United States Attorney Jessica M. Ly.

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Updated April 26, 2024