Collinsville woman sentenced for embezzling from employer, stealing coworker’s identity

A Collinsville woman has been sentenced to prison for embezzling more than $150,000 and stealing a coworker’s identity while she worked as a bookkeeper for AMK Heating and Cooling, a small business in Edwardsville.

Angela L. Cooper, 47, pleaded guilty late last year to one count of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft and three counts of tax fraud.

Chief Judge Nancy Rosenstengel of the U.S. District for the Southern District of Illinois sentenced Cooper on Wednesday to serve four years in prison and pay $168,536.12 in restitution.

Cooper was accused of embezzling a total of $158,658.41 over two years from 2019 to 2021, starting about a month after she was hired.

She wrote more than 100 fraudulent checks, disguised as payroll and loans to herself from AMK, and forged the owner’s and manager’s signatures, according to court records.

Court records also state that Cooper had access to employee files and personal information like birth dates and social security numbers while she worked for AMK. She was accused of using the information to obtain a credit card in a coworker’s name, which she maxed out, accruing $9,877.71 in charges in about a month in 2020, court records state.

Joslyn Sandifer, her attorney, said in a statement to the Belleville News-Democrat Wednesday that Cooper is remorseful and personally apologized to each victim.

“My client was in a very challenging time in her life,” Sandifer stated. “Her actions were motivated to dig herself out of a dark place. She understands that her actions had a negative impact on those for whom she worked and/or took advantage and is truly remorseful.”

Cooper faced criminal charges of tax fraud for failing to report the money she stole on her tax returns, according to Special Agent in Charge Bill Steenson of the IRS Criminal Investigation’s St. Louis Field Office.

“All income is taxable, even stolen income and this sentence helps drive that point home,” Steenson stated in a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 3:45 PM.