Former Executive from Brick Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud

The Brick Township woman who today admitted skimming at least $1,300,000 from the Carteret logistic services company  that employed her faces up to 20 years in prison at her July 29 sentencing.

Karen Sipes, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, according to information from the office of New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman. She was the director of finance for Toll Global Forwarding.

Investigators said between August 2010 and August 2012, Sipes created false vendor transactions and invoices, targeting vendors with large numbers of transactions, entering them into the company's accounting system and preparing checks payable to herself.

Sipes admitted changing vendors' identities to her own in legitimate transactions, covered her tracks in the system later, and used company checks to pay a family member's credit card bill, prosecutors said.

Sipes is ordered to  pay $1,335,698.93 in restitution to TGF and also risks a fine as high as $250,000, prosecutors said.