O'FALLON – An O’Fallon, Illinois, bookkeeper - Kathleen M. Dvorak - was sentenced to four years in prison for defrauding one of her clients out of more than $1,000,000. The sentencing hearing was conducted on Thursday, October 21, 2021, in U.S. District Court in Benton, Illinois.

Dvorak, 61, conducted a large, multi-year fraud scheme, against one of her clients. From 2012 through 2019, Dvorak defrauded the victim out more than $1,000,000. Evidence presented in court established that Dvorak took this money from her client in two primary ways: (1) by writing large checks, payable to herself, that was drawn on the victim’s bank account, and (2) by taking large amounts of cash back for herself when she deposited checks payable to the victim into his bank accounts.

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Dvorak concealed her fraud from the victim by making false entries into his Quickbooks accounting program. In addition to the four-year prison sentence, the court also ordered Dvorak to pay $1,495,072.74 to her victim.

“While our work on violent crimes often garners larger headlines, the public should be reminded that financial crimes remain a clear federal priority,” said Steven D. Weinhoeft, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.

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He continued, “Financial criminals like Dvorak cause great harm and must be held accountable.” “For years, Dvorak bilked her employer’s accounts, choosing greed over trust,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge David Nanz.

“No matter how simple or sophisticated the fraud scheme, the FBI won’t hesitate to bring all available resources to bear to hold criminals accountable and seek justice for victims.”

The court further sentenced Dvorak to serve three years of supervised release following her release from prison. As a condition of her supervised release, the court ordered Dvorak to participate in treatment for gambling addiction and to not participate in any further gambling activities.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Division, Fairview Heights Resident Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Verseman prosecuted the case.

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