Personal assistant siphons off 24.3 billion won... 1,500 luxury items come tumbling out during home search

[Financial News]  A woman in her 40s who worked as a personal assistant to a retired venture capitalist in the United States admitted to siphoning off 24.3 billion won over roughly 10 years. More than 1,500 luxury items purchased with her employer’s money were found at her home.
The woman spent the money on luxury shopping and trips to upscale resorts, among other things. During a search of her home, investigators found large quantities of luxury goods that had not even been unwrapped.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California on the 9th, Lizbeth Guadalupe Sherman, 47, who lives in El Dorado Hills, California, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Prosecutors announced this on the 2nd (local time).
Wire fraud is a crime involving the use of electronic communications to take another person’s money or obtain financial benefits through false statements or other means.
Court documents say Sherman worked as a personal assistant to a retired venture capitalist who lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was responsible for paying her employer’s credit card bills and was also given access to bank accounts.
Using that access, Sherman siphoned about $18 million (approximately 24.3 billion won) from her employer’s accounts between September 2015 and May last year. She used the money to pay off her own large credit card bills.
Sherman’s spending included luxury handbags and Rolex watches, vacations at upscale resorts, private-jet trips and vehicle purchases. She also used the money to renovate her home in El Dorado Hills, valued at $2 million (about 2.7 billion won). Investigators determined that she spent tens of thousands of dollars on this lavish lifestyle.
She also raised cash by reselling online luxury goods purchased with her employer’s money. Last year, she generated more than $450,000 (about 700 million won) in sales over nine months on just one online marketplace.
A search of her home in December last year turned up around 1,500 luxury items. Many were new, with their packaging unopened or price tags still attached. The items were stored or displayed in various parts of the house.
Dozens of Louis Vuitton handbags were lined up on an upper shelf in a closet. Another display case held several pairs of Christian Louboutin boots and handbags made from exotic furs.
Investigators also found handbags from famous designer brands, Rolex watches and fine wines in various parts of the home. They said all of the items had been purchased with the employer’s money.
Under her plea agreement, Sherman will be required to forfeit and pay restitution of approximately $18 million. The amount she must repay her employer, the victim, is about 24.3 billion won.
Sherman is scheduled to be sentenced on March 22 next year by U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb. The maximum statutory penalty for the charge is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine (about 340 million won). The actual sentence will be determined after taking statutory requirements and the federal sentencing guidelines into account.
[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter