A former accountant for a west suburban law firm has been sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing more than $500,000 from the firm.
Le Anna Kelty, 55, of the 8800 block of Teal Lane in Wilimington, was sentenced to eight years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for stealing more than $500,000 from the Naperville law firm, according to a statement from the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office. She pleaded guilty to one felony count of theft in excess of $500,000 in January.
From November 2006 to February 2013, she forged her employee’s signatures and deposited unauthorized checks drawn against the law firm’s bank accounts into her accounts, prosecutors said. Her scheme was discovered a year after she left the firm when they saw discrepancies in their books and performed an internal audit.
“She abused the fiduciary trust placed in her and in doing so caused great hardship to the firm and her fellow co-workers,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin said. “Thanks to the efforts of the Naperville Police Department, particularly Detective Elena Deuchler, with assistance from my office, she was caught, successfully prosecuted and will be held accountable for her actions.”