NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that CHRISTY BARTHOLOMEW, age 39, of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, pleaded guilty on June 23, 2021 to a two-count Bill of Information for wire fraud before United States District Court Judge Lance M. Africk today.

According to court records, BARTHOLOMEW was employed as a financial controller for a business located in Slidell, Louisiana, and later worked as an office manager for a company located in Kenner, Louisiana. From 2016 to October of 2019, she embezzled approximately $357,000 from her Slidell employer by several schemes, including unauthorized use of a company credit card. She later did the same thing with her Kenner employer, embezzling approximately $300,000 from November 2019 to February 2020.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 27, 2021. At that time, BARTHOLOMEW faces up to twenty years in prison, up to $250,000 in fines, and up to three years of supervised release. There is also a $100 mandatory special assessment due after conviction.

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, along with assistance from the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, in investigating this matter.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Rivera is in charge of the prosecution.