Here’s a roundup of some of the very bad things accountants have done over the past week or two.
Nxivm accountant spelled out dirty messages with colorful fridge magnets [New York Post]
The racketeering and sex trafficking trial of creepy old guy Keith Raniere, the leader of the sex cult Nxivm, is currently going on in a Brooklyn federal court, and things took an interesting turn on May 31 when Raniere’s bookkeeper took the stand.
Jurors in the Nxivm trial on Friday watched an eyebrow-raising video of the upstate home of the alleged sex cult’s bookkeeper — which showed the phrases “I suck big hard d-ck!” and “Slap my heinie” spelled out in colorful magnet letters on her fridge.
Kathy Russell, 62, also had an adoring photo of Nxivm leader Keith Raniere — who is on trial for allegedly running a twisted master-slave group within Nxivm called DOS — pinned to a bulletin board, and a tripod set up next to a bed in the Clifton Park abode.
Her landlady, who took the video, testified that she was surprised to find the ”juvenile” words on the fridge — which also included “boner” and “p—y” — as Russell hadn’t struck her that way.
C’mon now, landlady, everyone has a dirty, perverted side, even 62-year-old accountants. Russell has already pleaded guilty to visa fraud in the case, admitting she presented phony documents to the Mexican consulate to bring a Nxivm member to the U.S.
Mastermind’s accountant agrees to plead guilty in college admissions scam [USA Today]
Steven Masera, the ex-bookkeeper of the fake nonprofit led by Rick Singer, who was behind the nation’s largest college admissions bribery scandal, struck a deal with federal prosecutors on May 31 by agreeing to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering and cooperate with the government by giving them all documents, objects, and other evidence in his possession.
Masera, 69, who worked as the accountant and financial officer for Singer’s Key Worldwide Foundation and his Edge College and Career Network LLC, faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000; however, the Justice Department has recommended between 57 and 71 months because of his guilty plea.
In addition, prosecutors have recommended one year of supervised release, as well as undetermined amounts of restitution and forfeiture.
Accountant tricked her ex’s new girlfriend into sending nude pictures then posted them online [The Sun]
What’s the phrase? “Hell has no fury like a woman scorned,” right? Right.
Former convent schoolgirl Blerina Dobla, 26, wanted revenge on the woman who began dating her ex-boyfriend after he had dumped her, a court heard.
Dobla contacted the woman online posing as a man who wanted to date her. She eventually persuaded her to send intimate images via Snapchat, including a video of her naked in the shower.
Dobla then published the video on Instagram, and later more semi-nude pictures of the young woman, tagging her friends and family.
The victim was alerted to the images by a friend — but by then was unable to see them.
Dobla, an accountant, was arrested at work. She denied posting the woman’s nudes initially but she fessed up to it in court on May 31.
She is expected to be sentenced on June 28 and is facing possible jail time.
Accountant jailed for life after strangling wife and burying her in garden [Metro]
Here’s an update to a brutal story we brought to you on May 13:
An accountant who strangled his wife to death while their children slept and buried her in the garden has been given a life sentence.
Ahmed Dawood Seedat, 37 killed Fahima Yusuf , 32, because he wanted to start a new life with his sister in law.
He looked up how to cremate a body, how to bury someone alive and ‘best place to knock someone out’ online before murdering his wife of eight years.
Seedat whacked his wife with a wheel brace while she was sleeping before choking her to death. He buried her in hole in the back garden of their home in Carlisle, Western Australia in August. The hole his wife’s body was buried in had been dug by a landscape gardener hired by Seedat weeks earlier; he told the contractor he was planning to install a pool.
Seedat will spend a minimum of 23 years behind bars and is facing separate fraud charges, having been accused of stealing 5.7 million Australian dollars ($3.9 million).
Accountant sentenced for major fraud [Quinte News]
Michael Nicholson, a Certified Professional Accountant in Canada, pleaded guilty on May 13 to stealing almost $100,000 from two charitable organizations in Brighton, Ontario.
Nicholson, 41, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, three years probation, counseling, and other conditions. He also must repay the Presqu’ile Point Lighthouse Preservation Society more than $54,000, and the Brighton Auxiliary Rescue Unit more than $26,000 over a six-year period. Nicholson has already repaid $7,500 to each organization. He was volunteer treasurer for both groups.
Nicholson admitted to being an online gambling addict, and evidently, heavy losses caused him to become a crook.
He recently lost his membership in the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario for five years after being found guilty of professional misconduct. He was also fined $40,000.
Two men arrested in San Rafael on child pornography charges [KRON-TV]
And one of the men arrested is, you guessed it, an accountant … and a Boy Scout volunteer!
The second suspect, 64-year-old John Blecka was arrested for sending obscene material of a minor.
Blecka … said no comment when reached by phone about his arrest.
His social media pages claim he is an accountant in Larkspur and Boy Scout master.
But the Marin Independent Journal got a comment from Blecka, who was in the process of looking for some legal representation.
Blecka said he visited anonymous chat rooms where lewd images were offered or just sent to him, but he never sought child porn.
“I’m definitely not interested in little kids and boys and stuff like that,” he said.
Blecka said the computers seized by investigators did not involve his clients’ files, because he only visits the chat rooms from his home computer.
Blecka is a CPA who owns his own practice in Larkspur, CA.
On Friday, Grant Thornton had a firm wide call to discuss several things including layoffs, compensation, and grab-bag questions.