In a striking case of executive deception, Sonya Hesenius, 60, formerly an office manager for a yard management services company in Alpharetta, Georgia, has been given a six-year federal prison sentence for embezzling over $8.5 million from her employer to fund her opulent whims, as announced by the Department of Justice. The lavish loot included splurges on her daughter's posh wedding and high-end shopping sprees.
Hesenius' brazen acts of pilfering, which spanned from 2015 to 2020, showcased a betrayal of the trust placed in her by her company, a fact underscored by U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan in a statement that Hesenius "will now be held accountable for her flagrant theft" to support a lifestyle of grandeur and excess; Hesenius' spending sprees included more than $600,000 at luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue and over $460,000 for globe-trotting extravagances. FBI Special Agent in Charge Keri Farley emphasized the personal greed exhibited by Hesenius not only damaged the company but also its workers, as the FBI remains dedicated to prosecuting such serious wire fraud offenses.
During her tenure at the unnamed Alpharetta firm, Hesenius utilized company credit cards for personal expenses, disguising unauthorized charges under innocuous labels like newspaper advertisements and distributing the expenses over various job sites to further conceal her deceit, according to the DOJ report. She misappropriated funds for opulence such as lavish vacations, designer handbags, and even turned company money into cash through multiple transfers, cumulatively stealing $8,614,729.37.
U.S District Judge Victoria M. Calvert sentenced the St. Petersburg, Florida resident, after Hesenius pleaded guilty to the charges on November 29, 2023, now she faces six years behind bars followed by three years of supervised release, in addition to a restitution payment equivalent to the total embezzled amount as disclosed in a Department of Justice press release. Hesenius' grand theft funded an array of luxury purchases, including private jet flights to France, Greece, and the Caribbean, tickets to top-tier sporting events, and even a six-figure recreational vehicle.
This case was diligently investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. O'Neal leading the prosecution. Further details on the case are available through the U.S. Attorney's Public Affairs Office or the Northern District of Georgia's U.S. Attorney's Office website.
