(WNY News Now) BUFFALO, N.Y. U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced that Erin Martin, 52, of Tonawanda, NY, entered a guilty plea to wire fraud before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr. The maximum punishment for the charge is 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
The case’s prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Bonanno, disclosed that Martin worked as a Senior Staff Accountant for her Amherst-based employer from April 2022 to June 10, 2024, when she committed fraud. Martin was in charge of making sure that vendor invoices were paid on time, and he reported to the chief financial officer.
Martin’s plan involved creating fake vendor invoices and using them to start illegal electronic money transfers from the business’s bank account to her own. Martin embezzled $440,395 in total through 95 illegal transfers. Family and personal costs were paid for with these monies.
Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia of the Federal Bureau of Investigation oversaw the investigation.
A later date will be set for Martin’s sentencing.