Employee Charged For Allegedly Stealing Over $1.8M From Wood Flooring Company

An employee at a Boston-area hardwood flooring company has been charged with embezzling more than $1.8 million from the company over a period of years, the Department of Justice announced.

The employee, Joanne Dinoto, also known as Joanne Mara, was also charged with collecting unemployment assistance while being employed full-time, wire fraud, one count of filing a false tax return and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Between December 2013 and April 2020, Dinoto allegedly stole more than $1.8 million from J.J. Hardwood Floors Inc. by falsely inflating her compensation, using her employer’s corporate credit card for personal expenses and forging “at least two” checks to herself from her employer’s checking account, according to the DOJ.

“To hide her scheme, Dinoto allegedly modified her employer’s accounting records,” the DOJ continued. “It is also alleged that during the period August 2020 through May 2021, Dinoto collected unemployment benefits from the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance under her true Social Security number, while also working full time for a lighting company based in Wilmington under a fake Social Security number.”

Dinoto allegedly did not report more than $1 million in funds embezzled from the wood flooring company between 2015–2020 on her federal income tax returns.

If found guilty of all charges, Dinoto could face prison time and multi-million dollar fines.