CFO Convicted of Embezzling $1M for Luxury

A federal jury in Chicago convicted former chief financial officer Tina Feuerstein of embezzling more than $1 million from her employer’s subsidiary. (justice.gov) The jury returned guilty verdicts on April 9, 2026, after a four-day trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Feuerstein, 53, lives in Hanover, Pennsylvania, and was convicted on eight counts of wire fraud. (justice.gov) Prosecutors said she spent five years using a company credit card for personal purchases, including luxury furniture, designer apparel and everyday expenses. They said she hid the spending by falsifying entries in the company’s general ledgers. (justice.gov) Evidence at trial showed she deleted items in the company’s expense-reporting system to conceal more than 3,800 credit card charges totaling more than $1 million. Prosecutors also said she prepared false consolidated financial statements that understated the company’s expenses. (justice.gov) The case centered on a basic accounting problem with high stakes: a chief financial officer controls records that owners and managers use to see where money is going. Prosecutors said Feuerstein altered those records, and her employer relied on the false statements to make business decisions. (justice.gov) The conviction also turned a workplace theft case into a federal fraud case because the jury found wire fraud, a charge tied to schemes that use interstate communications or electronic systems. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. (justice.gov) Feuerstein worked for a Pennsylvania company owned by a Chicago-area parent company, which put the case in federal court in Chicago. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Chicago field office investigated, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois brought the case. (justice.gov) Prosecutors said trial evidence also showed Feuerstein had previously embezzled more than $250,000 while working in the accounting department of another company. The Justice Department included that allegation in its April 20 announcement of the verdict. (justice.gov) U.S. District Judge LaShonda A. Hunt set sentencing for Aug. 26, 2026. The verdict closes the trial phase, but the punishment will be decided in court this summer. (justice.gov)