Demotte Woman Sentenced, Must Repay Victim over $1.4 Million

 
 
A Demotte woman was recently sentenced in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty in a plea agreement to the felony offenses of Mail Fraud and Tax Evasion.

Senior District Judge James Moody sentenced Linda Lyrla, 58, to 46 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release on the charges. Lyrla was also ordered to pay restitution totaling a little more than $1.4 million to the victims and forfeiture of just under $1.4 million.

The government filed documents stating that Lyrla embezzled funds from her employer, Alliance Technology Group. Lyrla began siphoning money in 2001 by creating an internal fund for a credit card. Over the next nine years, she used the credit card for personal purchases and paid the balances with company funds. She did not pay income taxes to the IRS on this income.

The IRS and the FBI conducted an investigation and charges were filed.