[A] St. Johnsbury woman was indicted in federal court late last month on a charge that she embezzled more than $2 million over 10 years from her employer, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont.
Jennifer Dwyer, 48, of St. Johnsbury, pleaded not guilty to the charge that she stole from Northeast Agriculture Sales Inc., where she worked as a bookkeeper from approximately 1998 to 2017.
Dwyer was released pending trial. She faces a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars.
Northeast Agriculture Sales is a family business, with locations in Lyndonville and Maine. Dwyer’s job duties there included customer billing, handling company accounts and managing the payroll system. According to the indictment, Dwyer used unauthorized electronic transfers to move funds from the company’s payroll account to her own checking account, totaling $2,221,079.47, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Dwyer allegedly used this money for online gambling and to repay personal debts. Her indictment includes a forfeiture notice, meaning the government intends to seize any property she derived from the embezzlement.
FBI agents arrested Dwyer in Lyndonville on Jan. 17. The FBI is conducting the investigation; First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Doyle is prosecuting; and John St. Francis of Burlington is representing Dwyer.
Both St. Francis and Northeast Agriculture Sales declined to comment on the case Thursday.
