CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A former Chicago paralegal will spend two years behind bars after pleading guilty to embezzlement.
Becky Louise Sutton, 67, formerly of Park Forest, diverted nearly $700,000 in creditor payments to personal accounts, which she used to make mortgage payments, buy a car, and partially pay for her son's college education, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
She embezzled the funds from 2009 to 2018 while working on bankruptcy matters for the law firm.
Prosecutors said Sutton's theft remained undetected until one day she decided to not show up to work, because she had paid off all her debt and met family obligations.
The Chicago Tribune reports that Assistant U.S. Attorney Kartik Raman wrote: “Once she obtained the victims’ money unlawfully, she then spent it, mostly on herself or family, causing significant financial losses, a loss of reputations, as well as a loss of trust in the bankruptcy process and system."
The law firm was not identified in court documents, but public records show it is Saul Ewing LLP on North Clark Street in the Loop.
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