Florida Woman Sentenced to Prison for Embezzling Over $270,000 From Non-Profit Organization

Defendant Used Stolen Funds to Make Restitution for Previous Embezzlement Conviction

53-year-old Kristina Ann Ballard, a resident of Largo, Florida, was sentenced to three years in prison for stealing over $270,000 from her former employer, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C.

The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the Criminal Division at the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

In March 2022, Ballard pleaded guilty to wire fraud in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Royce C. Lamberth also ordered her to serve three years of supervised release, pay $271,465.86 in restitution, and forfeit an identical amount in a money judgment.

Between August 2014 and December 2020, Ballard worked as the Director of Finance for the nonprofit organization before being terminated for inadequate performance. During this time, she embezzled a total of $271,465.86.

Surprisingly, Ballard began stealing from the D.C. nonprofit just four days after being indicted in Arlington County, Virginia, for embezzling from a prior employer. In July 2015, she was sentenced by a Virginia court to four years of probation and stated that she had learned from her mistakes and would never repeat them. However, she continued her fraudulent activities, embezzling over $30,000 from the D.C. employer while under probation. She went on to steal an additional $240,000 from the nonprofit organization.

Ballard used a variety of methods to steal from the organization, such as wiring funds to her own bank account, intercepting credit card reward checks and depositing them into her account, and making personal purchases with the organization’s credit card. In November 2020, she even used the card to pay $24,694 in restitution to the Virginia court for her previous embezzlement scheme.

To avoid detection, Ballard used fake company names, false invoices, and forged signatures on credit card reward checks. The FBI’s Washington Field Office investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi Kleinman, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Michon Tart and former Paralegal Specialist Angeline Thekkumthala.

What Occurred

A woman in Virginia was found guilty of embezzlement and had to pay back over $37,000 in restitution, but it turns out that two-thirds of that money was actually embezzled from the nonprofit she worked for. This has resulted in her facing possible prison time.

Kristina Ann Ballard had already pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges on March 3, admitting to stealing over $270,000 from the nonprofit where she worked as the director of finance for six years. In addition to her previous restitution payment, prosecutors discovered that the embezzled money had been used for personal expenses such as hotel stays, vet bills, and tickets for Washington Nationals games.

The 52-year-old from Largo, Florida may be sentenced to between two and four years in prison on July 22. She was unavailable for comment and her defense attorney did not respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on March 3.

After being fired for poor performance, Ballard was charged with wire fraud by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia on December 27. The charges stem from her time as finance director at an unnamed nonprofit from 2014 to 2020. She had been earning a salary of $106,000 per year.

Court documents reveal that Ballard used various methods to execute the fraud, including fraudulent wire transfers to her own bank accounts using fake invoices. This resulted in over 110 transfers totaling more than $203,000 between 2015 and 2020.

Additionally, Ballard was accused of intercepting $12,507 in credit card rewards checks meant for the nonprofit and depositing them into her own accounts by forging the executive director’s signature. She also misused the nonprofit’s credit cards at least 65 times, racking up $55,000 in personal expenses which included hotels, clothing, meals, and veterinary care. One time, she even spent $1,330 at an optical store using the company credit card.

Shortly before her termination, Ballard used the nonprofit’s credit card to pay $24,694 in restitution for a previous embezzlement conviction in 2015. Prosecutors stated that the embezzled money has not been accounted for, but as part of her plea agreement, Ballard is expected to pay back a total of $271,465 in restitution.