PHOENIX – Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced today a jury found April Mooney guilty of one count of Theft, a class two felony, and four counts of Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices, class two felonies. Mooney stole approximately $240,000 from her employer utilizing four different fraud schemes. The defendant used the stolen money to pay for personal expenses, dining, shopping, and ATM withdrawals at various casinos.
In 2010, Mooney worked as a controller at J.F. Ellis Corporation which is a construction business located in Gilbert, Arizona. As controller, her responsibilities included handling accounts payable, bank reconciliations, and office administration. On January 3, 2014, an employee at the business noticed suspicious charges on his company credit card that he did not complete. An internal investigation began and the defendant was confronted by the owner of the business. The owner told the defendant that he suspected her of stealing from the company and terminated her employment.
The Gilbert Police Department launched an investigation and identified four different fraud schemes that began in 2010 where the defendant stole money from the J.F. Ellis Corporation. Two fraud schemes dealt with the unauthorized use of company credit cards by the defendant. Another fraud scheme involved entering checks into the accounting system as a legitimate expense, but then making the actual check payable to the defendant, April Mooney. The fourth fraud scheme was the issuance of checks to a business identified as “Whitecap.” Whitecap Construction Supply is a legitimate J.F. Ellis Corporation vendor and checks are paid to Whitecap Construction Supply as services are rendered. The investigation revealed that April Mooney reserved the business name Whitecap Confections at the Arizona Corporation Commission and used that information to open a checking account in the name of April Mooney DBA Whitecap Confections. The checks made payable to “Whitecap” were deposited into the bank account for the ghost company Whitecap Confections.
The jury also found one aggravating factor: the offense of theft was committed for pecuniary gain. Mooney was taken into custody and will be sentenced on April 22, 2016. She is facing three to ten years in prison.
Assistant Attorneys General Joseph Waters and Beverly Rudnick prosecuted this case.
For additional information, members of the media may contact Mia Garcia, Director of Media Relations at (602) 339-5895 or [email protected].