Fenton Woman Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Charge

Tricia Siems, 35, Fenton, pled guilty today to one charge of wire fraud as part of a scheme to defraud her Webster Groves employer, Rex Encore LLC. Siems appeared before United States District Judge Henry E. Autrey. Sentencing is set for September 26, 2017.

According to court documents, Siems was a bookkeeper for Rex Encore which is a holding company with a portfolio of investments including an automobile dealership and the Marion Miners minor league baseball team in southern Illinois. She was responsible for paying the bills of Rex Encore and keeping the books. Starting in 2010 and continuing up to January 2016 when she left the business, Siems wrote a series of unauthorized checks and made a series of unauthorized debit/wire transactions on the Rex Encore account at First Clover Leaf Bank in Edwardsville, Ill., all for her personal benefit. She then made false entries in the business’s QuickBooks in order to conceal her scheme. Siems pled guilty to wire fraud involving a debit/wire transaction made in January, 2016, in which she made an online payment from the Rex Encore account to her Chase credit card account in the amount of $5,500.00. She booked that expenditure as a payment on the Rex Encore medical insurance.

It was determined that Siems stole $209,486.23 as part of her scheme.

Wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney James Crowe is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.