DOJ News Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, January 20, 2023

Overland Park Woman Sentenced for Bank Fraud

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas woman was sentenced to 33 months in prison for bank fraud. 

According to court documents, Stephenie Stites, 52, of Overland Park worked as the accounts payable clerk for Norbrook Inc. In 2020, Norbrook noticed accounting discrepancies and when confronted, Stites admitted to making approximately $72,000 in unauthorized charges on the company’s credit card. A full review showed she’d embezzled more than $712,000 from Norbrook by creating two fake companies and manipulating invoices. As indicated in her plea agreement, Stites spent the stolen money to pay for personal expenses such as home and vehicle expenses, travel, hotels, real estate, and other disbursements. 

A federal judge sentenced Stites to 33 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release and ordered her to pay $712,890.27 in restitution to the victim company. 

Charles Dayoub, Special Agent in Charge of the Kansas City Office of the FBI said, “Stites perpetuated a scheme, misappropriating funds to fake companies and misusing company credit cards for personal gain.  Her actions resulted in the embezzlement of over $700,000 and violated the trust placed in her by her employer.  This sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to investigate financial fraud and to hold those individuals accountable for their actions.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan J. Huschka prosecuted the case.

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