How Many Scientific Calculators Does It Take to Send an Executive Assistant to Jail?

Kristen Martin, an executive assistant from Denver, pleaded guilty to mail fraud and federal tax evasion for a scheme that cost her employer $846,441.

From 2013 to 2016 Martin used her employer’s Staples accounts to purchase unauthorized items she either kept for herself or sold online through eBay and other companies. Due to changes in assignment within the company, Martin came to have access to 23 different Staples accounts, making her nefarious activities easier to hide.

According to court documents, Martin fraudulently ordered 4790 scientific calculators, 250 iPads/tablets, 440 Apple TVs, 178 Kindles, 159 headsets and five cameras. She resold the goods for a total of $571,725 and used the company’s Federal Express account to ship the items to her buyers. Shipping charges cost her employer an additional loss of $7896.

When questioned by management about some of the purchases, Martin lied and  said that the items were purchased for a project in a different division of the company.

Martin hid her earnings from the sale of the illegally obtained items from the IRS by filing false federal income tax returns for the years 2013 – 2016. She has agreed to pay restitution up to $872,337 to her employer and in the amount of $161,864 to the IRS.