A Shreveport woman has entered a guilty plea to wire fraud charges after being accused of embezzling from her employer, Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced. Kristen Levin, also known as Kristen Cassels, 42, acknowledged her crime before U.S. District Judge Barry W. Ashe on July 3, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Levin's scheme involved creating and submitting fabricated invoices to her employer; in one instance, for the particular amount of approximately $4,600 which was then transferred to Levin’s personal bank account without her employer's knowledge, the court documents detailed. Her guilty plea brings a potential penalty of up to twenty years in prison, fines reaching $250,000, and it could include up to three years of supervised release, not forgetting a $100 special assessment fee to come during her sentencing on October 23, 2025.
The investigation, led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, culminated in Levin's admission of the financial fraud she perpetrated. Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson expressed his gratitude towards the FBI's diligent efforts to uncover the full extent of Levin's illicit activities, as stated within the press release.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward J. Rivera and Katherine McHugh, both from the Financial Crimes Unit, alongside Sarah Dawkins of the Violent Crimes Unit, are tasked with the prosecution of the case.
