Law Firm Employee's $400,000 Shopping Spree
An employee of a New Mexico law firm reportedly went on a $400,000 shopping spree with credit cards sent to the Vigil Law Firm until she was eventually found out.
Melissa Espinoza, who formerly worked for four years as a secretary and bookkeeper for the firm, agreed to accept a plea bargain to nine counts “acknowledging” conduct including forgery, embezzlement and fraudulent use of credit cards, according to KOAT, a local ABC News affiliate. She will be sentenced at a later date. The news account doesn’t state the exact charges against Espinoza.
While she was still living large on funds obtained in the firm’s name, including $100,000 in cash advances, Espinoza “rented luxury limos, went to spas, ate out often and frequently treated herself to Starbucks,” the station writes on its website.
She and the Albuquerque law firm could not be reached by KOAT for comment.
