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An Eden Prairie woman, Monica Svobodny, 52, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison on Thursday, Oct. 3, for embezzling more than $1 million from her employer, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
U.S. District Judge Ann D. Montgomery also ordered Svobodny to serve two years of supervised release and to pay $1,137,404 in restitution.
Court documents reveal that Svobodny, who served as the supply chain and engineering manager at a furniture manufacturing company in Edina, used her position to funnel company funds for personal expenses, including designer clothing and luxury hotel stays. To conceal her actions, she frequently left unapproved credit card charges marked as “pending” in the accounting system.
Over seven years, Svobodny used company credit cards more than 300 times to transfer funds to her personal accounts via PayPal. Svobodny also altered PayPal transaction receipts and misclassified some expenses as payments to a defunct company.
She pleaded guilty to wire fraud on April 10.
The case was investigated by the Edina Police Department with assistance from the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca E. Kline.