A woman was convicted of felony theft Wednesday after stealing $275,000 from her employer, a Maryland-based catering company, from 2021 to 2023, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office announced.
Kimberly Hamilton faces up to eight years in prison, with all but five years suspended.
Hamilton worked remotely as a bookkeeper for Copper Kitchen, Inc., a Baltimore-based catering and food service business with over 200 employees, according to investigators.
The defendant’s duties included evaluating and settling bills from suppliers that provided the company with food, wine, flowers, paper goods, and other party supplies. From July 2, 2021, to January 28, 2023, Hamilton used her position to open a Copper Kitchen account with Melio, a payment processor.
Hamilton instructed Melio to make payments that seemed to be ordinary vendor payments and transfer them into a Wells Fargo account, primarily by ACH, according to investigators.
Copper Kitchen sent payroll payments to Hamilton via direct deposit to his Wells Fargo account. Hamilton directed Melio to make 159 payments totaling $276,564.54 to her account from Copper Kitchen’s bank account.
Hamilton reportedly instructed ADP to make a $1,620 duplicate payroll transaction into her account, according to officials.
According to investigators, the defendant had no authority from Copper Kitchen to shift money to her account and has never repaid any of the stolen funds.
“Financial crimes like this are not victimless offenses. When someone abuses a position of trust to steal from a business, the damage extends far beyond dollars and cents; it threatens livelihoods, undermines stability, and betrays the confidence that employers place in their employees,” State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said via press release. “During a time when many businesses were already struggling with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, this defendant repeatedly chose to enrich herself at her employer’s expense, despite already being on probation for a prior theft conviction.”
Hamilton’s sentencing is slated for August 4.
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