St. Clair County woman indicted on five counts of wire fraud
A Federal grand jury indicted a Smithton woman of five counts of wire fraud, accusing her embezzling money from St. Louis-based trucking companies for nearly two years.
According to the indictment, between approximately October 2017 and August 2019, Michelle Serth-Stein 50, embezzled about $120,804 from her employers to pay for retail purchases and personal loans.
Serth-Stein first worked at at St. Louis-based Midwest Systems as a driver’s recruiter. The job required submitting invoices for reimbursement expenses. From October 2017 to January 2019, she submitted false invoices to Midwest systems for payments that were deposited directly to her personal bank account, according to the indictment.
She was fired on Jan. 24, 2019.
But on March 3, 2019, Serth-Stein was hired to recruit divers and oversee driver safety by AA Express, also a St. Louis-based trucking company. From approximately March 2019 until August 2019, Serth-Stein made unauthorized Automated Clearing House transactions from the AA Express, Inc. business bank account and intercepted at least one check made payable to AA Express, Inc. by using her check-signing privileges on the AA Express, Inc. bank account, according to the indictment.
Serth-Stein deposited the funds into her personal checking account, the grand jury said. She was fired again on Aug. 10.
In all, Serth-Stein embezzled approximately $120,804.57 from Midwest Systems and AA Express, Inc. without the knowledge or authorization of her employers, federal prosecutors say.
For each count of wire fraud, Serth-Stein faces a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating this case. Assistant United States Attorney Lindsay McClure-Hartman is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
