Texas couple pleads guilty to embezzlement accusations

When people in Texas are charged with a crime, they face decisions that will likely impact the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, few people have the legal knowledge and experience to fully understand their options and the potential outcomes, prompting them to seek help. For example, a couple recently decided to plead guilty in a case involving allegations of embezzlement, likely after carefully considering the pros and cons of each of their choices.

The case involves a company that the couple reportedly co-own, Vantage Benefits Administrators. The company reportedly administrated, as a third party, retirement and pension funds. The woman, age 59, and her husband, age 55, reportedly admitted to embezzling over $15 million from the funds.

This was accomplished, according to court documents, by submitting over 90 distribution requests to 20 different plans. Instead of distributing the disbursements to the beneficiaries, the money was reportedly placed into an operating account for the business before being transferred to the defendants’ personal bank accounts. The woman, according to reports, admitted to using personal information of the beneficiaries to submit the requests.

The man and woman recently pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the embezzlement case, with the former pleading to aiding and abetting theft and the latter pleading to theft from an employee benefit plan and aggravated identity theft. Both face several years behind bars in addition to having to pay restitution and the potential for fines. Cases involving accusations of white collar crimes are often complex and can result in extensive consequences upon conviction. As such, those who are accused of a crime may choose to plead guilty if careful examination of the evidence reveals the possibility of a conviction while others may decide that it is in their best interests to fight the charges in court.

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