Clerk Charged with Stealing $6M from Texas Company; 30 Layoffs Followed
Updated: A trusted employee who had worked 16 years for a custom window builder in Houston was reportedly enjoying a luxe lifestyle for some time with the $6 million she allegedly embezzled. Meanwhile, the company laid off 30 employees this year because of a cash flow problem.
Accounts receivable clerk Marcia Sinclair, 43, is accused of having converted the funds by depositing checks for Gulf Coast Window Covering into her own personal account, reports the Houston Chronicle. She is currently being held in lieu of $12 million bail on a charge of first-degree felony theft. If convicted, she faces a sentence ranging from probation to life in prison.
Sinclair, who is represented in a related civil case by attorneys Earl and JoAnne Musick, who are father and daughter, allegedly used the money she stole from her employer to pay for lavish trips, designer clothing and expensive furniture for her home. At one point, she reportedly had a $250,000 tab at the Neiman Marcus department store.
“Instead of buying a $2,000 pair of shoes, she bought 12 pairs of $2,000 shoes,” says Bill Gaul, the window company’s president and CEO. His company, he admits, should have had better accounting controls.
Bail for Sinclair was subsequently cut to $1 million, which was still significantly more than the $20,000 sought by a defense lawyer, according to a later Houston Chronicle story.
Updated at 4:25 p.m., central time, on July 10, 2008, to include later Houston Chronicle coverage.
