A former Jackson Hole bookkeeper has been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison after admitting she stole nearly $1.5 million from a family-owned hospitality business over more than six years.
Laura Marie Means, 46, worked for a Jackson family business that owned several lodging and hospitality properties.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming announced the sentence Sept. 25.
Means pleaded guilty to wire fraud and filing a false tax return. U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson also imposed three years of supervised release.
QuickBooks Entries Disguised Unauthorized Transfers
Federal prosecutors said Means altered entries in QuickBooks so unauthorized transfers into her personal bank accounts appeared in the company’s records as routine expenses such as “supplies” or “invoices.”
She also used a separate bank account that her employer had not approved to divert company funds.
The scheme extended beyond direct transfers. Prosecutors said Means issued herself unauthorized payments that included duplicate salary payments and bonuses she had not earned.
Means had been hired in late 2015. Prosecutors said the scheme continued through September 2025, with losses to her former employer totaling $1,484,104.80.
The Scheme Continued After She Moved to Hawaii
Means relocated from Wyoming to Hawaii shortly before the fraudulent activity began in February 2019.
Her employer allowed her to continue working remotely on the condition that she return to Jackson once each month, according to the sentencing announcement.
Prosecutors said Means used her continued access to company accounts and financial records to carry out the embezzlement while living in Hawaii.
Because she electronically moved money from the Wyoming business while residing in another state, the fraudulent transfers traveled through interstate wire communications and formed the basis of the wire-fraud charge.
Concealed Income Led to a Separate Tax Charge
IRS Criminal Investigation said Means concealed the stolen income from the federal tax system.
The government filed a criminal information and obtained a summons on June 22. Means waived indictment and pleaded guilty during a July 16 hearing in Cheyenne to Count One, wire fraud, and Count Two, filing a false tax return.
The Sentence Included More Than $1.8 Million in Restitution
Judge Johnson ordered Means to pay $1,484,104.80 in restitution to her former employer and another $355,875.32 to the Internal Revenue Service.
Together, the two restitution orders total $1,839,980.12.
Means had been released on a $20,000 unsecured bond after her initial appearance. She was ordered to surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on Dec. 2 to begin serving her sentence.
The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and Teton County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Vierbuchen prosecuted it.
Independent Financial Review Can Limit One Person’s Control
The case involved one employee handling payroll, banking, tax reporting and the company’s accounting records.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s Financial Audit Manual describes segregation of duties as a control designed to reduce opportunities for one person to both cause and conceal errors or fraud. The guidance calls for separating responsibilities such as authorization, recordkeeping, handling assets and independent review.
The IRS recommends maintaining business records that clearly identify income and expenses and keeping business accounts separate from personal accounts. Its recordkeeping guidance also says businesses should reconcile checking accounts each month so bank statements, checkbooks and accounting records agree.
For businesses using computerized bookkeeping systems, the IRS says electronic records should contain enough detail to identify the underlying source documents and should reconcile with the company’s books. Independent review of bank activity against payroll records, invoices and accounting entries can provide a separate check on what appears inside the bookkeeping software.