East Bay woman sentenced after embezzling nearly $300,000

SAN FRANCISCO — A Martinez woman who admitted to stealing nearly $300,000 from two San Francisco-based companies was sentenced Wednesday to three years in federal prison, authorities said.

Karen Posey, 58, pleaded guilty in federal court to four counts of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud and one count of access device fraud, U.S. Attorney David Anderson of the Northern District of California said. She entered her plea last December and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Breyer.

In her plea, Posey admitted that she took $235,000 from a San Francisco-based architecture company that designs school and other public spaces nationwide with a focus on making them accessible to disabled people. Posey worked at the company from July 2016 to December 2017, authorities said.

Posey wrote unauthorized company checks to herself and deposited them in her personal bank account; used a corporate card to pay for personal expenses; and used a corporate ATM card to pull out large sums of cash, according to the plea agreement.

She also admitted to using similar methods and embezzling more than $48,000 from a San Francisco-based conservation company before working for the architecture firm.

Breyer also sentenced Posey to reimburse the two companies.