Credit: Marion County Sheriffs Office
MARION COUNTY, Fla. - A Marion County woman has pleaded guilty to stealing over $600,000 from an alternative school over the course of seven years, the Department of Justice said.
Danielle Jane Liles, 41, of Summerfield, pleaded guilty to eight counts of wire fraud and is ordered to forfeit the $616,793 she stole from the Silver River Mentoring and Instruction (SRMI).
According to the DOJ, between January 11, 2016, and April 10, 2023, while handling the payroll, Liles devised a scheme where she defrauded the school.
Liles had 137 unauthorized paychecks issued in her name by logging false information into SRMI's accounting software.
She was able to receive the paychecks through ACH wire transfers directly into her bank account.
In a financial review with the school's executive staff in April 2023, Liles said she had been paying herself extra money and had become addicted to stealing the payroll funds.